Possibility Redefined
by atlantislover
Summary: AU. Kurt and Rachel are two promising young scientists on Atalntis who think they have everything figured out. Both their worlds are flipped when they meet two handsome marines who change everything. Puck/Kurt, John/Rodney,Finn/Rachel
1. Chapter 1

The air was crisp and cool as it blew over the balcony. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, casting brilliant shades of pink and orange over the horizon. John let out a contented sigh as he watched the new day's sun cast and orange glow on Atlantis. The city's spires shown in an almost golden hue. John took a couple steps forward and bent to rest his elbows on the railing, bringing his coffee to his lips with both hands, soaking up the warmth. Taking a deep breath, John let the aroma of coffee and salty sea air wash over his senses. He loved Atlantis at this time of day. Most of the people were still sleeping at this early hour (except for the diehard scientist and the patrolling marines). John liked to take this time to relax for a few minutes before he had to report for duty.

As the ranking military officer on the city John had a lot of responsibilities to attend to. There were good things and bad that came with the job. One thing that John liked was not having to just blindly follow orders from a superior, not that he always did. Technically Atlantis is a civilian scientific research base and as such, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, a negotiations specialist back on earth, was the leader. But all military decisions were handled by John. The military presence on Atlantis was prominent, but in the few years since they had defeated the Wraith (only a few were still brave enough to pop up every now and again) Atlantis has become more focused on its real purpose as a research base. Unlike other superiors John has had in the past, he got along well with Elisabeth and day to day operations flowed fairly smoothly, most of the time. The days when he had to make tough decisions that could affect the entire population of Atlantis were hardest for him, he carried the weight of those decisions on his shoulders every day. When John lost any member of the expedition it affected him more than he would ever let anyone see. But in the end the rewards outweighed the risks. Yet another benefit to being the military leader of Atlantis, meant that he could get Major Lorne, his second in command, to do all his boring paperwork for him. John _hated_ paperwork.

Smiling to himself John brought his cup of steaming coffee back to his lips. _Man that's good._ John thought. _Rodney really does have the best coffee._

Just as he was about to take another sip John heard the whoosh of the balcony door sliding open. John didn't have to look to know who had joined him.

Pressing up against John's side Rodney sleepily looked into John's mug. "That had better not be my good coffee." He said in a groggy tone.

John sighed and handed the cup over to Rodney, never taking his eyes off the sunrise that was now turning into reds and purples.

Rodney reached for the warm mug with greedy hands. He brought it to his nose and inhaled the godly aroma. Although he would never admit it to anyone, Rodney let out a small whimper, and hastily took a big gulp of the steaming liquid.

John had heard Rodney's coffee moans before and just chuckled softly to himself. Turning now to get a good look at the man, John could only stare. Rodney had walked from the bedroom to the balcony in nothing but a thin gray t-shirt and his striped boxers. He had the thin white sheet from their bed draped around his shoulders. Rodney was oblivious to John's inspection; now caught up in the beauty of the sunrise himself as he continued to take big gulps from his cup.

John reached out to Rodney and combed his fingers through Rodney's disheveled hair tugging lightly.

Rodney turned accusing eyes to John. "Hey! Don't you have enough of your own hair to mess with?" Rodney asked, reaching up with his own hand to smooth out what John had done. Feeling that no damage had been done, he let his hand fall back to his cup. Rodney continued on more gently, seeing the wounded expression John was wearing. "Well…I don't have as much as you, so I have to be careful with it. Not everyone can be as fortunate as you." He finished sounding defensive, casting his eyes on John's thick, dark, unruly mop of hair.

John tried but he couldn't hold his laughter in. "Rodney you have plenty of hair. Besides I like your bald spots." John only said the last part to get a rise out of Rodney. He knew it was a sensitive subject for him. But the faces Rodney made when he was flustered always made John smile.

Rodney's eyes grew huge as he reached back up to inspect his head. "Wha…what do you mean 'bald spots'? I don't have a bald spot. Yes it's thinning in places but I don't-" The amused crinkle at the corners of John's eyes and the way his lips twitched ready to split into a huge grin stopped Rodney mid-rant. He glared at John then, leaving his now empty coffee mug on the railing.

"What?" John asked trying to sound innocent, the smile he wore not helping him prove his innocence.

Rodney was not having any of it. Stabbing his finger in John's chest he screeched, "You are evil. Pure evil! And here I am at the ass-crack of dawn, watching a stupid sunrise with you when I could be in my lab yelling at Zelenka or my minions for their incompetence. No doubt they are wrecking havoc down in my labs. It's astonishing that they can walk and talk at the same time, let alone run the lab successfully." Rodney was grumbling to himself now and pacing, waving his hands around trying to punctuate his point. It was a good thing Rodney had set aside his coffee otherwise John was sure he would have spilt it all over himself by now.

John was still staring, enjoying his Rodney rant. Most people would either be crying or ready to kill Rodney by this stage. John just found it amusing. It was one of the things he loved about him, Rodney was never shy about telling anyone what he thought about them and the man wasn't gentle when doing so either.

Rodney finally calmed down enough to look back at John. He was doing that leaning thing he did that made him look oh so sexy, Rodney observed. John had one hip against the railing, arms crossed across his chest and his legs crossed at his ankles. His black military uniform hugged his lean body in all the right places, but what caught Rodney's eyes were John's bare feet. Something about seeing him dressed with no shoes or socks on really got to Rodney. When he pulled his eyes away, the look in John's eyes said it all, he was enjoying this.

"You!" Rodney said, pointing his blunt finger at John again, trying to keep the sheet from slipping off his broad shoulders with his other hand. "You are enjoying making me suffer."

Uncrossing his arms and stepping away from the railing John said, "I have no idea what you're talking about Rodney." Smiling, John continued over to Rodney, who had paced himself to the other side of the balcony during his tirade.

Rodney Hardened his features into a scowl, took a step back and held his chin up in defiance. "Yes you do. You did it on purpose."

Once John had positioned his body directly in front of Rodney, he reached out and placed both hands on Rodney's hips. John could feel the heat from Rodney's body seep into his hands. He Pulled Rodney closer until they were touching from hips to chest, John smiled brightly and bent down and closed the couple of inches that separated them to place a chaste kiss on Rodney's soft lips.

When John pulled back to look at Rodney's eyes he saw the scowl Rodney still wore, but it had softened a little from John's tender kiss. John's grip grew a bit tighter and he pressed even closer, if that was possible, and circled his hands around to Rodney's lower back.

Rodney stretched his arms out, which had been gripping the sheer sheet at his neck and brought his arm back in. He rested his hands on John's forearms and slowly moved them up until he had loosely encircled John's neck and let the sheet fall to the ground.

Rodney had given in to John the moment he had pulled them together. He hated that John could do that to him; make him forget anything and everything just from a simple touch. Smiling now as well, Rodney moved to kiss John again when suddenly a loud siren began to blare. They immediately pulled apart, both John and Rodney ran into their shared quarters. John grabbed for his radio at the same time Rodney was shoving his into his ear and simultaneously pulling on a pair of pants.

"This is Sheppard. What's going on?" John radioed the tower as he was stuffing his unsocked feet into a pair of military issue boots. Not bothering with the laces he made his way to the door, Rodney right on his heels zipping up his blue and tan science uniform top.

Chuck answered instantly, his voice not giving away that he was panicking. "We're not entirely sure Sir. The alarm was activated in the science labs."

"Which lab?" John was already heading to the transporter when he heard Rodney shout next to him.

"They were doing what?...Who authorized that?... Oh I don't think so!" Rodney looked over to John; the look on his face told him what he already knew. A moment later they were in the transporter and John reached out his hand and pressed the destination in, without having to be told where.

As they stepped out of the transporter and into the hall the alarm suddenly went silent. Looking to each other they picked up the pace and burst into the last lab at the end of the long hallway. What they had found was two of the youngest and smartest scientists the city had ever seen. One of which was Rodney and John's daughter, Rachel. Rachel was actually Rodney's niece. She was three when Rodney's sister and her husband had been killed in a car accident, Rodney had gained custody and adopted her. John had officially adopted her as well just last year. The other, Kurt Hummel, was the son of one of John's Marines and close friend. Both teens were frighteningly smart and when given the chance the pair could even give Rodney a run for his money.

The two young scientists looked up at the same time, hearing the whoosh of the doors open. When they saw who had burst in on them, they both spoke at the same time. "He did it." "She did it." They were both pointing at the other, as they noticed this…they turned to scowl at each other.

"This was your idea." The tone left nothing to be argued but Kurt should have known who he was dealing with; Rachel wouldn't go down without a fight.

"No it wasn't. You were the one who said it should be fine to move forward with it."

Before the two could continue their bickering John cut in holding a finger up. "First are you two okay and second is the city going to sink…or is the crisis adverted?" He looked from one to the other, waiting for one of them to respond.

"We're fine. And No, the city is not going to sink, everything is under control." Kurt answered, running his fingers through his bangs and pulling them to the side. He continued on and looked critically at Rodney. "Oh…Dr. McKay, the 'slept in' look is really not working for you."

John could feel Rodney relax at first and then tense at his side from Kurt's comments. Letting out a sigh John pointed to the two young faces before him. "Rachel, Kurt, you two have a lot of explaining to do. But first, is that thing safe?" John said pointing warily at the square device sitting innocently enough between the teens on the lab table.

"Of course!" They answered in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I should have said this first but John and Rodney didn't go with the first wave to Atlantis. They met in almost the same way as the show though, instead of Carson launching the drone it was McKay by accident. They met and fell in love. :) Also I just picked what I wanted from both Glee and Atlantis and used it. So that's all I can think of now, more notes with more chapters! Thanks for reading!

Earlier the same day….

Rachel had awoken at her usual early hour and promptly went to the small exercise room used mostly by the science staff, only the members of the military who were trying to woo one of the scientist ever used it. Looking around the room she noticed two women on the right side of the gym lifting light weights and chatting softly to each other. _They're from the botany studies._ She thought. Shrugging, soft sciences weren't really in her realm of interests.

She walked over to the treadmill on the other side of the room and set down her small black gym bag she had brought with her. She had just started to work up a sweat when she saw Kurt Hummel glide into the room. He was dressed in his usual flare, _he could even make exercising look fashionable_ she muttered to herself. He was wearing loose fitting black sweat pants that stopped just below the knee, a baggy black sweatshirt that draped off his right shoulder to reveal a white tank underneath. He had his hair pushed back with a red head band and matching red wrist bands on both of his slim wrists. He had spotted her immediately and moved in her direction.

Rachel had first met Kurt three years ago back on Earth at the SGC. Kurt's father, Sgt. Burt Hummel, had accompanied her dads on a mission through the stargate and the three men had quickly become friends. Burt had been with the SGC for only six months when he had met John Sheppard and Rodney McKay, seeing the two together had brought things into perspective and made things easier for him to understand his own son. Burt loved his son more than anything but being a single father to his openly gay teenage son had left him floundering for ways to connect and show his son how much he cared for him. Meeting the two had helped him; whenever he had questions or doubts about how to support Kurt, he could always turn to them for the answers. After meeting Kurt John had come to the conclusion that it could benefit both Rachel and Kurt if they became friends or at least allies. Neither Rachel nor Kurt had many friends; both teens were incredibly intelligent and didn't attend school with any kids their own age. They both had built up walls around themselves cutting off anyone who had tried to get close. Rachel, much like Rodney, used her intelligence as a barrier to keep everyone at arm's length, insulting their intelligence and bragging about her own. She came off as petty and arrogant and no one would bother to try to befriend her. Kurt, on the other hand, used his sharp wit to verbally tear down anyone he deemed unworthy. He had been bullied and pushed around his entire life; it had just become easier for him to push people away rather than to leave himself open for hurt.

Upon their first meeting, the first thing Kurt had said to Rachel had both shocked and intrigued her. He had carefully looked her over from head to toe and then proceeded to explain to her in great detail just how horrendous her outfit was. He had even said he would rather pluck his own eyeballs out of his head then to spend another second looking at that atrocious monstrosity.

Had she been any one else she would have been offended, but she didn't let Kurt's frosty demeanor deter her. Something about the elaborately dressed boy interested her; somehow he had slipped past the walls she had constructed around her. It had taken her longer then she had anticipated, but she was able to melt part of the icy exterior that he presented to everyone he met and the two had become friends.

Kurt put his bag down next to Rachel's and stepped onto the treadmill next to hers and started it up. "Morning Rachel. You look…" Sparing a critiquing glance at his friend, he shuddered. "Sweaty."

Rachel had been smiling when he had bustled in but his comment made her frown in disapproval. _Really?_ She thought. Seeing the face she had made Kurt questioned, "What? Would you rather I said you looked like a giant bee? I mean really, do you get dressed in the dark?"

She looked down to examine her outfit. She had worn her favorite yellow and black tank and a pair of black form fitting capris. Knowing she wouldn't win a battle about fashion with Kurt she decided to change the subject. "Do you remember that device Major Lorne's team brought back from their last mission?" Receiving a nod from Kurt, Rachel continued on. "Well…I was thinking we should check it out and see what it does." Her smile grew as she said the last bit.

Kurt abruptly stopped walking and nearly flew off the end of his treadmill. Regaining his balance, he looked to Rachel with disbelief in his eyes. "You know your dad prohibited anyone from touching that device before he has a chance to look at it right?"

She waved her hand in dismissal. "I know, but I was thinking. If it does something that could benefit the city I bet we could use our discovering of it as a bargaining chip to get us on a mission. And besides, my father was just over reacting." She reached up and turned off her treadmill, then bent down to pick up her bag. As she slipped the strap over her shoulder she smiled at Kurt. "You coming? Or am I going to have all the fun by myself?"

Huffing out an exaggerated breath, Kurt looked back to Rachel. "I'm coming. You should know I'm not letting you do something stupid on your own." He stepped off his machine and picked up his own bag and slung the strap across his chest.

"Meet you in the lab in twenty minutes?" she asked excitedly as they made their way out of the gym.

Nodding in agreement, Kurt moved down the hall in the opposite direction. "See you then." He waved her good bye. _I hope this isn't as stupid an idea as I think it's going to be_, he thought as he walked down the hall to his quarters.

They met in the transporter and made their way to the main lab. They had a flimsy plan in place because trying to get Zelenka to give up the unidentified device, without asking Rodney, was going to be a problem.

They had found the wild haired man in his lab sitting at a station with three laptops spread out in front of him. All were open and running several different simulations at once, his eyes were tracking the readouts when he glanced up to the two young faces intruding on his concentration. Using his index finger to push his glasses back into place, he raised his eyebrows at them. "May I help you two?" he asked.

Rachel stepped forward setting her face in a bright smile. She pulled at the hem of her ill-fitting tan and blue science uniform. Her eyes cut to Kurt, who was standing to her left. Kurt's uniform fit him perfectly, the pants he wore clung to his legs and showed off his shapely figure and he somehow made the jacket looked like it was pulled straight from the pages of the fashion magazines he forced her to study in her free time. He had hoped it would help improve her 'so called style'.

"Yes you can Dr. Zelenka. Kurt and I were sent down here to take a look at the device that Major Lorne's team brought back from MX4-338." Rachel pointed to the corner of the lab where the boxy Ancient device sat secluded in an old cardboard box with the words '_do not touch unless you are Rodney McKay'_ scrawled on the side in big bold letters. "There it is. We'll just take it to our lab."

Before either teen could move, Zelenka stood, shifting his eyes between the device and Rachel. "I don't think so. Rodney made it very clear when he said no one to touch device."

Rachel fumbled for the right words. "Yes but he changed his mind and instructed us to examine it to find out what exactly it does." She had hoped she sounded convincing but by the way he eyed her she didn't think so.

Kurt knew he shouldn't have left this up to Rachel, but she had been so excited he had let her try. Kurt glanced around the lab searching for anything he could use to distract Zelenka. As his eyes scanned the room they landed on the white board standing behind the older man, Kurt saw it then, his distraction. Kurt shifted forward and interrupted the quiet dispute between the other two. "Is that your equation Dr. Zelenka?"

Radek looked to Kurt and then to the big board behind him. "Yes…why?" He asked tentatively.

Kurt's smile grew then. "It's wrong." He stated blandly, pushing his bangs to the side.

Radek's eyes narrowed at Kurt. Walking up to his equation, he started scanning it line by line trying to find his mistake. "Where? I do not see it?"

Kurt shot his eyes pointedly to Rachel, giving her the signal to make her move toward the device. He walked over to Zelenka and began pointing out errors; they were discussing the flaws when suddenly Zelenka caught on to their plot. When they turned back to Rachel, they found her halfway to the door with the ancient device clutched in her arms.

Kurt's voice broke in before Zelenka could stop them. "Well, Dr. Z. we'll be on our way and now you can get back to work on all of your projects without any interruptions. Don't worry about us; we'll just be in our lab if you need us." They made a quick retreat before Zelenka could make an argument against it.

"Thanks!" Rachel called out to the floundering man, as the door whooshed shut behind them.

Radek had his hand poised in the air trying to come up with something to stop the two thieves, but the door shut in his face before any words came to mind. He huffed out a sigh and rested his hand on his hip. He thought about radioing Rodney and telling him what had just happened, but decided against it, fear of the verbal lashing he would receive for letting the two deceive him. Zelenka would rather delay a confrontation with McKay as long as he could. He knew Rachel and Kurt would be careful with the device, they were young, but they were members of the science contingent on Atlantis and as such he trusted their judgment.

Kurt already had a scanner in hand as Rachel gently set the clunky cube on the table. Both of them eyed the device, mentally cataloging all the information they could, as both knew once they were discovered they wouldn't have a chance to see it again for some time. The device was approximately 10 x 12 inches wide and 10 inches tall. The metal was tinted a dark blue, nearly black color, and intricate carvings danced over every side. The top of the cube was carved with a large, deep X. Rachel gingerly traced her finger over the lines of the carving, and upon closer examination she could see that it wasn't simply decorative, but a way for the cube to be opened. Kurt pointed out that each triangle of the X was filled with a different raised symbol, and he quickly sketched them onto one of his notepads for future reference. In the meantime Rachel had picked up the scanner that Kurt had been using and tried to get a read on the low energy levels that the device continued to emit.

"What are you doing?" Kurt looked up from his sketch.  
"Trying to figure out the energy levels that keep coming off this thing."  
"Isn't it more important to get it open?" Kurt looked down at his sketch, then at the device to make sure it was correct. "To look at the power source?"  
Rachel glared at her friend. "Well, the energy level has to be important because otherwise my dad wouldn't have been interested enough to bring it back."

Kurt reached out for the scanner and Rachel willing handed it over to him. Kurt's eyes roamed over the readouts from the scanner. "Hmmn…" The results were puzzling. He had never seen an energy signature quite like this one before. It was definitely ancient in design, but something was off.

Rachel had picked up a brush and was delicately sweeping off remnants of dust and dirt that had accumulated over the many years of neglect the device had suffered. She quickly moved to peer over Kurt's shoulder to look at what had caught his interest. "What…what is it? Do you know what it does?" She asked excitedly.

He handed the scanner over to Rachel and bent down closer to study the top of the device. "I'm not sure what it does, but look at this." He said, pointing to the strange symbols on the top of the device. "This isn't ancient writing, but the device _is_ ancient."

"Did you try 'thinking on' at it to activate it?" She asked, as she studied the results from the scan. Kurt had the ATA gene which enabled him to use ancient tech. He had it naturally, whereas Rachel did not. She had taken the gene therapy that Dr. Carson Beckett had created. The gene therapy only worked for 47% of the people who received the treatment, Rachel happened to be one of the ones that it had no effect on. She tried not to let it get her down but Kurt could tell she hated not being able to use the ancient tech without assistance.

"No I didn't think _on_ at it. We don't know what it does yet." He paused as an evil grin spilled onto his face. He was still staring at the device, but darted his eyes to Rachel to catch her reaction to what he was about to say. "What if it's a weapon that attacks people with horrid taste in fashion? I would be safe…but you on the other hand…would die a horrible death and as much as I wouldn't miss your offensive outfits, I would have to live with the guilt of your death on my conscience."

The annoyed look and the displeasure in her voice had Kurt in giggles. "Very funny Kurt." She said playfully bumping him with her arm as she moved to crouch down next to him and examine the top of the device better. "Seriously, I think you're right, it opens up. Maybe your gene could open it so we can see what kind of power source it's running on. If we know that, we might get a better idea what it does and why the energy emissions are off."

Sighing, Kurt reluctantly laid his hand on the cool surface of the device and thought 'open'. Rachel held her breath in anticipation…nothing happened. "Okay. So that didn't work. Try touching the symbols." She said.

"Rachel I don't think this is a good idea. I've never seen energy emissions like this before. What if we accidentally activate it? Let's check the ancient database again and see if there is anything similar. We have the scans, it might give us a better idea where to look. Then we can open it safely." He tried to push her in a direction that didn't end up with them in a million pieces when this all blew up in their faces.

She wasn't listening to Kurt, too caught up in the excitement of a new discovery to realize he was probably right. She reached out and started pressing the symbols in different combinations. She could see Kurt fidgeting at her side but tried another combination anyway. Suddenly a pale blue light shone through the cracks in the top of the device. Both of the teens took a step back as the light grew brighter. Kurt picked up the scanner again and watched for any signs of trouble.

At first the energy readings remained stable but only moments later that all changed. "Rachel!" he screeched, there was a power spike on the readout. "Turn it off! Now!"

She fumbled forward and looked to Kurt. "How?" Just then an abrupt siren angrily blasted and red lights began flashing in the lab.

Franticly Kurt pushed Rachel to the side and placed his hands on the sides of the glowing cube and willed it to shut off. _Turn off, turn off, please turn off._ He begged it to just shut down. He opened his eyes and stared down at the glowing device, thankful to see that it was slowly sealing up the fractures it had opened and the light beneath turned to darkness. He let go of it as Rachel walked up the other side of the now inert box.

It had only been a couple of minutes in total that the device had been active but it felt longer to Kurt. He felt himself relax when the sirens stopped and the flashing red faded away. He looked to Rachel; she was staring transfixed on the cube. "You think anyone noticed?" he asked hopefully and looked back to the innocuous cube sitting on the table.

That's when John and Rodney came storming in.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't really know the ins and outs of the Ancient tech so I just made up whatever sounded good. :)

"Is that thing safe?" John asked.

"Of Course!" They said in unison.

Rodney was unconvinced. He stepped forward and picked up the abandoned scanner and began his own examination of the device. Studying his findings for a couple of moments, he circled around the device and eyed it critically. After a long moment he spoke. "What did you do to it?"

Kurt pointed to Rachel. "She started poking it before we even knew what it was." He accused.

"Hey! I was just trying to get it open so we could see what kind of power source it has."

Kurt rolled his eyes and looked to John mouthing the words _my idea_ to him. John stifled a giggle, the two were always bickering. He shook his head and looked to Rodney. "You sure it's safe Rodney? Atlantis did just activate a warning. It obviously was about to do something that warranted caution." Pausing John turned back to Kurt. "How'd you two turn it off anyway?"

Rachel cut in before Kurt could answer. "Kurt thought off at it." She said simply, crowding into Rodney to get a peek at the readouts he was fussing over.

Rodney's head shot up at that. "It responds to the gene? Huh…John maybe you should-"

John interrupted this time. "That's probably not a good idea Rodney, considering what just happened."

"Oh…right, right." He waved him off, returning his attention back to the device.

Kurt walked over to Rachel and Rodney and pointed to the scanner. "I think I know what happened." Both McKay's shot their searching eyes to him. "I think whatever the power source is; it's degraded or broken somehow. The energy spikes were similar to the ZPM right before it reaches critical overload."

"Hold on, are you saying this thing," John gestured to the device. "is powered by a ZPM?"

Shaking his head, Kurt tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "Not a ZPM, but something comparable in design maybe. That's probably why the city reacted the way it did, it recognized the similar energy signal. That's another reason to check out the power source." He added, hoping they wouldn't be in too much trouble if this thing proved useful.

As the three scientist jumped back in discussion on their discoveries and their hypothesis on what exactly the device did, John radioed Dr. Weir and filled her in on the situation. Reassuring her everything was under control. As John signed off, the whoosh of the lab door pulled his attention away from the now bickering three. Dr. Zelenka and Sgt. Burt Hummel walked in looking nervous. John figured Zelenka was wary because he had let the two take off with the device and Burt looked nervous because he knew his kid had been the cause of all the commotion.

Catching John's eye Burt walked directly up to him and bluntly asked what kind of trouble his son had gotten into this time. John reached out and patted the burly man on his shoulder reassuringly, smiling slightly. John spun in the opposite direction facing the two teenagers and Rodney, cleared his throat.

Three sets of wide eyes landed on him and he smiled his _warning_ smile at them. "Rodney I know you're caught up in the excitement of this device at the moment, but the two of them are in trouble."

"What? We didn't do anything." Rachel threw her hand over her heart, acting wounded by John's words. She didn't stand a chance though because John was serious; they had taken a stupid risk that could have ended badly.

"Not going to work Rachel. You two messed up and you know it." He said looking to both of them. "As punishment for your misbehavior you two are going to help move and organize all the supplies the _Daedalus_ is bringing to Atlantis. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. You are both to report to Major Lorne and help him with anything he needs."

Kurt gasped loudly and looked to his dad for help, but he was smiling amusedly at Sheppard's punishment. "But I don't do well with manual labor." Kurt said horror etched into his features.

Burt snorted at Kurt. "You'll live. You're lucky the Colonel wasn't harsher." He smirked at John.

Patting Sgt. Hummel on his shoulder John began to guide the man out of the labs, but before they left completely John looked back to Rodney who was already in the midst of what looked like a long rant directed at the two youngsters and Zelenka. "Rodney?" John called back. The other man stopped mid-sentence and focused his electric blue gaze on John. "Make sure you get back to our quarters and finish getting dressed before you get too enthralled in anything."

Rodney looked down at himself remembering that in all the excitement of the morning he had been in such a rush that he had just thrown on the first thing he could find, which had been a dirty pair of pants he had worn the day before and he hadn't even bothered with socks as he'd shoved his shoes on without ting them. Rodney brushed John off with a flurry of go away hand motions and returned his full attention back to his waiting victims.

John and Burt were glad it wasn't them in there getting a tongue lashing from Rodney. Instead they were heading down the hall toward the transporter. Burt eyed John Critically, fully taking in his appearance for the first time. John, like Rodney, had been in such a hurry as he'd flown out of their room without much care for his appearance. His boots were unlaced, hanging loose around his ankles and his hair was mussed more than usual. John saw the disparaging look Burt had been shooting his way and jumped to defend himself. "Hey your kid and mine got themselves into trouble. I didn't really have time to leisurely get dressed."

Burt held his hands up in defense. "I didn't say anything." He said plainly. "I'll leave that up to Kurt."

Both men chuckled as they sauntered down the empty hallway. "Don't worry he already got Rodney." They went separate ways at the transporter, John back to his quarters to finish getting ready for the day and Burt went to check in for duty.

The rest of the day went on as usual, despite the morning's disturbance. That night at dinner however, Rodney tried to convince John to let up on his punishment on the two teens. He claimed that they were certain the device could safely be opened and a proper analysis could be completed on the power core. The only problem was that Rodney wanted Rachel and Kurt's help in doing so. Kurt had excellent control in using his ATA gene and a good knowledge of the Ancient database. Rachel, on the other hand could keep up with Rodney when he jumped from one idea to the next without warning. Even Zelenka got lost when the two McKay's got going. But John had held firm and told Rodney he could wait a couple of days for the kids help. When Rodney continued to harp on the subject, John threatened to withhold coffee and power bars for a month if he didn't stop. John knew Rodney couldn't live without his coffee; it had made John laugh at how fast he had shut up.

/

The next morning found a bright eyed Rachel and a somber Kurt in Major Lorne's office awaiting the Daedalus beam down of the first shipment of supplies. This trip the Daedalus was transporting new members of both military and science contingents for Atlantis, as well as the usual supplies.

Major Evan Lorne looked at the two young faces sitting across from him in his office. He couldn't help but smile at the two. Lorne had spoken with Sheppard the day before and was informed that the two were being punished and made to help with the supply organizations. He sat at his desk and began shuffling papers around, looking for the list of the new military personnel. Once he found it he looked back to the two sitting before him. "Alright. Sheppard made it clear that the two of you will be helping me out until everything is put in its proper place." Standing up and moving around his desk to the door, he motioned them to follow. "I have you two checking in the first batch of supplies that just beamed down. You will have to check each box to make sure we received the correct amount."

Both Kurt and Rachel were already bored just thinking about the tedious tasks they were being forced to perform. They walked down the hall to the large open room that was used for the Daedalus supply replenishments. Kurt's eyes rounded in shock when he walked in and saw the towering stacks of boxes. Most were as tall as he was. "Don't you have grunts for this kind of mindless labor? We are much too smart to be doing this." He said disgust coloring his words.

Lorne just rolled his eyes and handed the supply requisition to Rachel, who was also scanning all the boxes in front of her with disgust. She took the tablet willingly and looked over to Kurt. "Well, we had better get started. The faster we get this done the faster we get to go back to the labs." The _with our own kind_ was left unsaid but clearly written on her face. Kurt could understand, looking around they were the only members of the science staff he could see. Sighing in defeat, Kurt took the tablet out of Rachel's hands and walked up to the first box waiting for Rachel to get a hint. It only took her a second to realize what Kurt was doing. He had taken the tablet so she would have to be the one to open up each crate as he checked off the contents.

"I'm not going to open every one of these by myself, so don't get too comfortable." She said as she moved to open the large silver crate.

Kurt just gripped the tablet tighter, and narrowed his eyes at her, clearly unwilling to give it up.

She sighed, resigned to be doing it herself.

/

It had taken the Daedalus several weeks to make its way from Earth to Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. All nonessential team members hadn't had much to occupy their time with on the journey. Everyone on board was excited to finally reach their destination and have a chance to explore the fabled city. Two of the new personnel walked together down a hallway to investigate their new quarters.

"Finally! Man, it felt we would be stuck on that ship forever." Lt. Finn Hudson complained to his best friend, Lt. Noah "Puck" Puckerman, as they walked down the unfamiliar hallways of Atlantis. His eyes were scanning over every detail he could take in as they searched for their new dormitory. Upon arrival all of the new personnel were greeted by Colonel Sheppard, who had given a brief speech welcoming them all to Atlantis and the mission objectives. Then they were bustled into another room and divided into different groups for room assignment and personal orders. Shortly after, all were given room assignments and direction.

Noah had his large duffel bag thrown over one shoulder as they walked side by side down the long hall. He turned to Finn and smiled at his friends' goofy expression. "What's the matter dude? Didn't like being cooped up for so long?" He asked, as he threw a taunting smirk in Finn's direction.

Finn didn't even notice Puck's grin, he just kept his wide smile in place as they looked for their shared quarters.

Puck and Finn had been friends since they were five years old and had been in the same kindergarten class. The first day of school Finn was being bullied by another kid on the playground. The other boy was making fun of him and calling him a freak for being so tall. Puck had immediately walked up to the other boy and shoved him down, proclaiming that anyone who messes with his friend would pay. The two had been best friends ever since.

Puck didn't have a very stable home life while growing up. His mother was never home, always out with the new boyfriend of the month. Whenever he could, he had sought refuge at Finn's house. Finn's mother, Carole, became like a second mother to him and Finn like a brother. The two of them had joined the marine's right out of high school and went through training together. Unknown to them at the time, all branches of the military on Earth had started to test all new recruits for the Ancient gene. When a recruit was discovered to be carrying it, they were sent to area 51 to be evaluated on their proficiency in use of the gene. Both Finn and Puck had turned up positive for the gene, and found themselves first at area 51, then soon at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado at the SGC. They spent a year at the SGC on a gate team in preparation for their departure for Atlantis.

Puck had enjoyed his time at area 51 because he had good control of his gene and quickly became the "go to" tester for any devices that were brought back. He had especially liked when he was able to test the Jumper that was stationed on the base. At the SGC he didn't get as many chances to fly as he did at area 51, but going through the 'gate' had been something entirely different. He enjoyed the new planets and most of the people he met off world. Finn had been with him throughout it all but his gene wasn't as strong as his, so he often was sent on missions while Puck helped the scientist with activating the ancient technology. Now that they were on Atlantis, Puck was itching to get back into a jumper.

A few more turns and they finally stumbled onto their quarters and walked in to throw their things onto the beds. "It's better than the SGC quarters." Puck mumbled as he looked around the room, stopping to run his hand down the small dresser on one side of the room.

"Yeah, I guess." Finn wrinkled his nose up at the sparsely decorated room, but before he could voice his opinion, his stomach growled loudly.

Puck chuckled as he walked back over to his friend and patted him on his shoulder. "Come on man, we don't have to check in for an hour. Let's hit the mess hall and see if they got anything good to eat."

Finn's eyes lit up at the mention of food and he was already out the door.

/

Kurt and Rachel had gone through three beam downs of supplies when Lorne approached them smiling. "Hey you two how's it going?"

The two identical scowls he received made him laugh out loud. He suppressed the need to point out that they had only been at it for a few hours. "Well why don't you two take a break and go get something to eat."

Without another word the two darted off in the direction of the mess, Lorne was left with the tablet in one hand and smile on his lips as he watched them hurry away without a backwards glance.

"So you think if we talked to your dad and told him how terribly dreadful this all is, Do you think he would let us off the hook?" Kurt asked, brushing his bangs to the side as they walked down the corridor to the mess hall. He knew that his wishful musings were too good to be true, but he had hoped Rachel would think of something to get them out of this.

"I don't think so. He seemed really upset with us. He has to treat us the same as he would any of the other scientists that pulled something like we did."

Letting out a breath of frustration, he agreed. "You're probably right."

Rachel looked to Kurt and was about to speak when suddenly she felt her world knocked off its axis, and then she was on the floor. Dazedly she glanced up to what had knocked her down. She could hear Kurt yelling above her but she was transfixed on the unfamiliar tall boy crouching down in front of her, a concerned look on his face.

She willed her limbs to move, but they wouldn't obey, and she sat frozen on the ground looking into the kindest eyes she had ever seen. She knew he was speaking to her because she could see his mouth moving, but she didn't hear any of it. When he reached out and took a hold of her hand to help her up, everything around her came crashing back to reality. It was then that she heard the harsh tone of Kurt's voice directed at the other marine standing to the side. She still couldn't speak but she managed to make eye contact again with the boy who had knocked her down and when she did she received a stunning smile, which she matched. The two were lost in the others presence, blocking out the bickering between their companions.

"Finn." The tall boy introduced himself, eyes shining and his smile wide.

When she answered with her name it came out as nothing more than a harsh whisper. Her attention was pulled away from Finn as she heard the sharp intake of breath from Kurt just before he grabbed her arm and began pulling her away down the hall. She continued to longingly gaze back to the marine, _Finn, _she thought, as they turned the corner and they were out of sight.

Once she was away from him she was able to process what Kurt was saying.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" Kurt was furious. His cheeks were red and his hands were balled into fists at his sides as he quickened his pace down the hall. Rachel almost had to run to keep up with him. She didn't think she had ever seen him this angry before. Cautiously she tugged on his arm to get his attention, she wasn't entirely sure why Kurt was so angry, as he hadn't been the one knocked to the ground.

Rachel's gentle touch caused Kurt to stop and lock eyes with his friend. The other marine's words had left him reeling. Kurt had been pushed around and called names his whole life, but something about the way the other boy spoke to him filled him with anger.

"What happened Kurt?" She asked, squeezing his hand gently. "Your shaking you're so angry."

He took a couple steadying breaths, calming his nerves. After a few moments when he finally spoke his voice was flat and lacked inflection. "I was just telling the Neanderthals to watch where they are walking. Then Neanderthal one told me…" taking a deep breath, his voice pitching higher as he finished, "'not to get my panties in a twist.' Can you believe that?" He asked eyes wide and accusing.

Furrowing her brow at him in confusion, she opened her mouth to ask if he was serious, but before she could speak Kurt continued his account of the recent event.

"Then he called me…" He paused gathering his strength to repeat the unspeakable. "Princess." His voice was clipped revealing his underlying anger.

Rachel looked at her friend with disbelieving eyes. "That's it?"

Kurt was back on the defensive, his hands moving to his hips. "What do you mean? He insulted me."

She knew Kurt would usually just let these kinds of things roll off his back; she was curious why this guy had gotten under his skin. She smiled at him, linking her arm with his and started walking again. "Well, let's forget about him for a minute and tell me what you thought of Finn."

Raising his eyebrows at her he looked to her smiling profile. "Finn?"

She ducked her head and giggled. "Yeah. Finn." She stated simply.

/

Finn was still looking down the hall, wanting to see more of the pretty girl he had just ran into when Puck's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Dude. What the hell?" Puck was glaring at him. He couldn't believe what had just happened, he had been yelled at by a prissy boy for something he didn't even do. "You just stood there and let the kid rip me a new one."

Finn wasn't entirely sure what Puck was talking about, he just knew that he was in love and Puck was being irritable. With a smile planted on his face, Finn started down the hall again towards their destination, Puck reluctantly following after him. "I wouldn't worry about it. Don't we have to report in soon?" Finn tossed the question over his shoulder to a mumbling and disgruntled Puck.

As they walked down the hall Puck thought back to the incident that had left him feeling anxious. He had been taken aback by the smaller boy who had immediately started throwing insults at them.

As he'd stared at the angry boy in the scientist uniform, two thoughts had come to mind. The first being disbelief at the words that spewed from the boy's mouth, and the second being that he had pretty eyes. Puck wasn't about to admit the latter thought to anyone anytime soon, but it had rattled him nonetheless.

When the onslaught of verbal abuse started being tossed at him, Puck had started off trying to defend his klutzy friend. But when he fully took in the speaker's appearance, a mischievous smile crossed his face. He couldn't help himself, the kid;_ he is definitely younger than me _Puck had thought, looked so sure of himself. Puck quickly felt the urge to ruffle him a little.

He tried to keep up but the insults were harsh and fast coming, he tried different tactics and finally one worked. When he saw the other boy flinch as he'd told him not to "get his panties in a twist", Puck knew then exactly where to hit so it would it sting the most. He knew he had been right when he saw the mixture of emotions run through the other boy when he had called him "princess". A faint blush had spread on his pale features and Puck had felt something in his gut tighten. But before Puck could utter another word or process his feelings, the boy had forcefully grabbed his friend and dragged her off. Puck had watched their retreating backs turn the corner and disappear from sight.

The abrupt change in attitude from condescending arrogance to embarrassed, angry blushing from the other boy had left Puck fumbling with his own feelings. Now he was just pissed at Finn for not even realizing what had happened.

/

After a few hours of Rachel talking nonstop about her mysterious marine, Kurt decided he'd had enough. They'd gone to the mess hall and had lunch; the entire meal was spent listening to Rachel gush about how handsome and chivalrous the unknown guy had been. And now that they were back in the supply room checking boxes, she still didn't let up. An event that had amounted to five minutes in length, had set off hours of babbling. Kurt was at the end of his rope and was about ready to smash the tablet PC over Rachel's head just to shut her up.

"Don't you think he was sweet? I mean I know I've already said it, but he was so handsome. His smile wa—"

Kurt cut her off. "That's it! I can't listen to you another minute without feeling the need to tear my ears off and throw them into the depths of the ocean."

Rachel had been crouching down next to a shipment barrel, combing through its contents when Kurt's shrill voice cut through her wondering thoughts. She looked up to see that his slim fingers had gone white; he was gripping the tablet so tight. "If you say one more word I swear I will steal your favorite pink grandma sweater and burn it!" he paused searching her face for understanding. When she nodded, eyes wide, he continued. Relaxing his grip on the tablet, he took a couple of deep breaths. "After we get done here, we will hack into the personnel files and find out more about your beloved marine, but only if you promise not to talk about him anymore until then!" His eyes were still locked with Rachel's as he finished with a sharp nod.

Rachel had been startled by Kurt's outburst, but when he had said they should hack the personnel files she couldn't hold back her smile.

Holding up a finger she said. "Although I normally don't approve of criminal acts to get information, in this case I think it warrants an exception."

"Good. Now back to work. As soon as you finish this one, we can quit for the day."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for everyone who has read and alerted this story! Hope you all are enjoying it. Reviews are love too! :) 

Rachel finished the last box, and quickly dragged Kurt over to Lorne so that they could ask permission to leave, and receive their orders for the following day.

They made a quick escape to Rachel's room and both climbed onto her bed with her laptop spread out in front of them. She quickly tapped in her password and got to work on infiltrating the personnel database. It was easy for her, only taking a few minutes to crack the code. Rodney would have been impressed, as he had been the one who had taught her how to hack the database. Although, Rachel thought, he probably would not appreciate her using HIS code to hack it.

"We're in." Rachel announced, smiling at Kurt. He seemed to be just as excited as she was; he was leaning forward toward the screen for a better look.

She pushed the sleeves of her jacket up and started rapidly typing to bring up the information she was looking for. She didn't know the guy's last name; she had been too busy studying his handsome face to have even considered glancing at the tag on his uniform. She did know he had to be a new recruit from the Daedalus because neither she nor Kurt had ever seen him before and she was certain that she would have noticed him before this. She searched through the new personnel listing and found him quicker then she expected.

"There!" Kurt pointed at a small picture at the bottom of the page. "That's him, right?"

A squeak of excitement bubbled out of her, even as she tried to hold it back. She scrolled down to the picture and clicked on it to view the file. The file popped up and both she and Kurt pushed closer to the laptop, eyes skimming over the screen. There wasn't much in the file, just his military history and a brief bio.

Kurt spoke first, pointing to a line on the screen. "He's only three years older than us. That's not bad; you might even be able to convince your dads' to let you date him." He sat back up and let Rachel pull the computer into her lap.

Her smile only grew as she continued to scan over the rest of the file. "You think?"

Pulling his bangs to the side, he shrugged his shoulders at her. He didn't really think that it would work but he didn't have it in him to tell her that. Her smile was too bright he didn't feel he could say anything that would make it dim. He knew his friend was taken at the moment and he didn't want to ruin it. She rarely ever thought about anything other than progressing in the scientific community, and seeing her like this made Kurt want to see her acting her age more often. They were seventeen and they needed to have more experiences that regular teenagers had, even if it was just a stupid crush. He was about to point out that fact when the door to Rachel's room whooshed open.

Both teens jumped at the sound and Rachel slammed the top of her laptop shut quickly. When they looked up, John was standing in the doorway with a curious smile on his face, one eyebrow cocked up in amusement at the two.

"Whatcha doin?" John drawled, slouching against the door frame.

"Nothing." They answered in unison.

They were too quick to answer which only had John more curious. "Right." He drew out the word, showing his disbelief. He knew they had to be up to something but he wasn't in the mood to investigate. "As long as you don't plan on causing any more alerts like the other day, I'll leave you to it." He paused, quickly scanning the pair to make sure they understood. When all he received was two quick nods, he proceeded. "Okay. Well we are all meeting for dinner together in the mess hall. You two have twenty minutes."

John took one last glance at his adopted daughter and her best friend, then he snuck off to drag Rodney from his lab. John had known that with the new personnel that had just come in, Rodney would be hiding out in his lab trying to ignore them.

/

When Kurt and Rachel made their way to the table they were happy to see that they weren't the last to arrive. Both John and Rodney were still missing. When they entered the mess hall they quickly made their way through the lines, picked out their food, and sat down next to each other. Rachel sat next to the two empty seats designated for her dads and Kurt sat next to Teyla, who was rocking a fussing Torren in her arms. To Teyla's right sat her husband, Kanaan. On the other side of the table sitting across from Kurt and Rachel was Burt and Ronon, both deep in the middle of a conversation about the best way to bring down a wraith, from what Kurt could discern. Next to Ronon sat Dr. Jennifer Keller, the two had been dating for a couple of months now and everyone was surprised when they had first found out about the two but the more they had seen them together, the more it seemed to fit. She was chatting quietly with Kanaan about the latest baby born to one of the Athosians.

Usually about three to four times a week the group would get together to have dinner. Kurt loved these days the most. It reminded him of the family dinners they would have when his mother was still alive. His mother would be in the kitchen all day long getting things ready for when his dad would come home. Kurt was always at her side mixing, measuring and usually just getting in the way but she never complained. She would smile at him and give him something else to help with. Since meeting John, Rodney, and Rachel, Kurt had felt like he and his dad were a part of a family again. The three had welcomed them with open arms. Then coming to Atlantis and meeting the rest of John and Rodney's team had just given him more people that accepted him and his dad.

The group greeted them as they joined them at the table. It wasn't too long before they heard the telltale sign that John and Rodney had entered the mess hall.

"I'm serious John. You should see the simpletons that they sent me. I'm telling you most of them wouldn't even be able to tell-"

"Rodney!" John admonished as he placed his hand on Rodney's lower back and steered him towards the food line. "I'm sure they're not that bad."

John knew the moment they had entered the mess hall that Rodney's booming voice had everyone's attention on them. He tried to calm him and maneuver him through the food line quickly and to their seats, away from the prying eyes.

John slid into the seat next to Burt and Rodney flopped down next to Rachel still muttering under his breath about the incompetent fools he had working for him. John tenderly elbowed Rodney in his side and gave him a look that clearly said "_if you don't shut up there will be consequences"_.

Rodney sighed and began shoveling his food into his mouth. His table manners were not much better than Ronon's at times, but at least he used a fork.

John greeted everyone and apologized for Rodney, then turned to Kurt and Rachel smiling. "So how are you two enjoying your punishment?" He asked, his voice laced with mischief.

"Fabulous." Kurt answered in a deadpan tone, which sent the rest of the table chuckling at the obvious misery the two were going through.

Burt pointed his fork at his son and said, "Well be glad you only have a couple more days of this kiddo." He was smiling as he said it but his voice was steady and serious.

Kurt knew his father wouldn't have been so lenient. He looked to John then and saw him smiling at something Rodney had said. John had his head bent down close to Rodney, looking at his plate, one hand holding his fork and listening to him contently like there wasn't a table full of their friends that could witness this intimate moment between them. Kurt longed for the day when he could have someone he cared about and could share in special moments like this.

The rest of the dinner had gone on as usual in a flurry of laughter and reminiscing. But as everyone was heading out, back to their quarters, John stopped Kurt.

Placing his hand on Kurt's shoulder John stopped him. "Hey don't forget you have another flying lesson in two days. As soon as you two are done with the supplies, it's you, me, and the Jumper."

"Trust me when I say I would not forget that. The last time I was in the jumper was amazing." Kurt was excited; flying the jumper was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He loved it. He felt free and he liked the feeling of being in control of the small ship.

"I think you can probably take the lead on this one."

"What?" Burt cut in. He knew Kurt was having success maneuvering the jumpers, but the idea of his only son flying it by himself was not something he wanted to think about.

Slapping Burt playfully on his back John smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. I'll be there the whole time. He's a natural anyway." That didn't seem to calm him down but John waved a quick good bye and dashed out towards his room.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I just want to say thanks to everyone who is reading and alerting! :) Also with this chapter I want to point out that I'm pretty sure it only takes one person to fly the jumpers but in this fic I have it as two, a pilot and a copilot. Also I don't really know if the jumpers can be set to 'hover' but I did make that happem **:P **Anyways, thanks again and I hope you all continue to enjoy. I know I am having lots of fun writing this.** :)**

The two days it had taken to finish organizing the rest of the supplies dragged on for both Kurt and Rachel. The two met up in the early morning at the gym and worked out a plan for the day. They had decided that while Kurt was taking his flying lessons with John, Rachel would do reconnaissance and find her mysterious marine and they would meet up in their lab later.

After their quick workout/meeting they went their separate ways. Kurt quickly went back to his room to shower and change and then left to meet John in the Jumper bay.

When Kurt strode through the jumper bay doors he could see John standing on the other side of the large room next to Jumper one. Kurt glanced down to his watch; sure he was early and didn't expect to see John already waiting. His watch confirmed that he was in fact ten minutes early, releasing a small shaky breath and letting the shot of panic that had jolted in his stomach at the thought he had been late fade away, he continued toward John with a huge smile lighting his features.

John had made it a requirement that all personnel who had the gene would learn to fly the jumpers. It was a precautionary measure he had taken to ensure that in case of an emergency there would be enough people to fly the jumpers as an escape. At first Kurt had been a little uneasy about the whole situation; he hadn't even been driving a car for very long before they left for Atlantis. But John had been persistent and Kurt had finally given in, even at his father's insistence that he didn't have to. Honestly, Kurt was sure his father rather he didn't participate, but the ancient technology had always drawn him in and he gave in. This now had him and John on a regular flying schedule of once a week.

The moment Kurt had sat in the pilot seat he had known he wasn't going to be able to get enough of it. Flying had been both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. But the pull of the ancient machine had just felt right under his hands and he was able to maneuver it with ease, without much effort. John had called him a natural and had been teaching Kurt all the ins and outs of jumper basics.

Kurt was eager to get back into the jump seat; it had felt too long since he had last been out. He was about to call out to John, when he turned and spotted Kurt.

"Hey Kurt!" John was waving him over, his lips quirked in a smile.

"Morning John. You're early. You had me worried I was late." Kurt said as he adjusted the bottom of his science uniform jacket.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I hope you don't mind but I asked one of the new marines who has had some experience in the jumper at Area 51 to join us. He's supposed to be good." John said inclining his head toward Kurt. "But we shall see."

Kurt giggled at John's remark.

The doors to the jumper room echoed as a tall marine walked in. Both John and Kurt turned to see him enter with an air of confidence and bit of a _don't mess with me attitude_ surrounding him. Kurt thought that the marine looked familiar and squinted his eyes to get a better look at the man. The moment he came into focus Kurt sucked in a breath and stood to his full height, trying to look menacing.

John took notice of Kurt's sudden movement but pushed his curiosity aside to greet the new man joining them. "Morning Puckerman." John looked to the two young faces standing in front of him and ran his hand through his unruly hair. "You two ready to take her up?"

Puck had recognized the prissy scientist with the shiny blue eyes that sparkled with defiance the moment he had walked into the jumper room. _This should be interesting_ he thought as he followed the colonel into the back of the jumper.

John took the seat situated directly behind the pilot's chair and gestured for the two to take their seats. "Kurt why don't you take the lead and we'll see what Puckerman has to offer?"

Kurt nodded to John and glided past the other two to slide into his seat. He couldn't believe his luck. The last time Kurt had seen the other man he had wanted to punch him in his smirking face. But he quickly decided that was a bad idea, considering that the other man was a trained marine and at least five inches taller than him. Kurt knew he couldn't win that fight but the impulse to punch him was still there the moment he had seen him again.

Puck took the seat next to Kurt and started his preflight check list with him. John could sense the tension in the small space the instant the two boys saw each other. He wasn't quite sure what that was about but he was going to keep his eyes on them.

"Okay Kurt, take her up nice and slow." John instructed.

Kurt placed his hands on the console and willed the small ship to do as he told it. The jumper lifted off the ground smoothly and floated up to the opening ceiling and out to the clear blue sky above. The view was breath taking. No matter how many times Kurt had seen it, the city never ceased to amaze him.

John shifted behind him and put his hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Good job. That was perfect. You can even brag to Rodney about it." John chuckled. "The first time Rodney tried to fly the jumper out of the opening he managed to scrape the side all the way out the top. The scratch is still there."

Kurt couldn't hold back a giggle at the mental image that had created. He heard a small laugh to his side and glanced over. Puckerman was studying the readouts on the HUD and chuckling to himself. Kurt looked at the other man's smiling profile and couldn't help but admit that he was attractive. But that didn't change the fact that he was an inconsiderate jerk.

Once John had got his laughter under control, he instructed Kurt though several maneuvers, which he had completed perfectly. Only once did he hesitate, but as he relaxed into it, he was able to pull it off without any problems. Kurt had been flying for nearly half an hour when John told him to switch positions with Puck. Kurt had almost forgotten that he was there; Puck had been quietly keeping his eyes on the HUD and checking out the city's view.

Kurt set the controls to hover just above the water as they changed seats. As Kurt got up to take the copilot seat he found himself pressed between the control console and the taller boy. His legs were pressed up against the console and his chest was flush against Puck's chest. Kurt's heart was beating so hard he thought it was going to explode; if not, then it was certainly audible in the small confines of the jumper.

Kurt couldn't make eye contact with the taller boy. He knew his face was red and for some reason he couldn't get his emotions under control. The close proximity and the rush of flying the jumper must have had him off balance. _That had to be it_ he thought.

The more time Puck spent around the prissy scientist the more he wanted to know everything about him. When he had got up to change positions with the smaller boy he intentionally invaded his personal space, just to see the reaction he would get. He had expected a sharp insult, but the faint blush he received instead, made a genuine smile spread across his face. He pushed in closer, staring down at the dark lashes that fluttered against the other boys pale cheeks. He hesitated a moment, not wanting the heat he felt pouring off of the smaller boy to leave him. Something about the young scientist was drawing him in.

He was reminded of the fact that they weren't alone when John Sheppard cleared his throat. Both boys jerked their heads in the direction of the offending sound, to see an amused and curious look on the Colonel's face. Puck quickly regained his senses and pushed past Kurt, making as much bodily contact as was possible without drawing too much attention to his actions.

The rest of the Jumper lesson went smoothly with Puck in the pilot seat. Neither boy was able to make eye contact with the other, but Kurt dutifully reported readouts from the HUD and helped guide the jumper through some of the more difficult maneuvers.

John watched the two boys critically throughout the entire lesson. He was intrigued by their supposed dislike toward one another, and he wanted to see what was really behind it all.

/

While Kurt was busy with flying lessons (a waste of time in her opinion), Rachel was on a mission. Her mission was to find, locate, and talk to Lt. Finn Hudson. She had done her research earlier in the day, once again hacking into the personnel files trying to find out his schedule. If she had done her research correctly, and she was Rachel McKay so she definitely had, then he would be in combat training with Captain Fuller. Clutching her computer tablet to her chest, smile in place, she made her way to the large training room on the east side of the city.

It only took her a few minutes to get to the other side of the city but on the way she plotted out her actions. She had been jittery with nervous energy ever since she had met him a few days before in the hall. She never got nervous about anything but as she entered the hall the gym was in she released a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. Shaking her arms at her side to rid herself of any unease she still had, she entered the gym. It was one of the largest training rooms on Atlantis and at this time of day it was filled with what appeared to be all the new recruits that had just arrived.

Her eyes roamed over all the faces in search of the one she was looking for. Finn was taller than most of the other soldiers and she was able to spot him rather quickly, despite all the people milling around the room. She watched him for a while, trying to decide the best way to approach him.

She watched as he was thrown to the mat by another recruit, and landed on his back. She had seen combat training before but she still jumped when he had gone down. Her first instinct was to rush over to him and check to see if he was alright, but on closer examination she noticed he was laughing. The other soldier who had knocked him to the ground was holding his hand out to him, pulling Finn to his feet. They exchanged a few words that she couldn't hear and watched as he bent to pick up his bag and water bottle.

_Now's my chance_, she thought, steeling herself for her approach.

Finn made his way to the door ready for a long shower, and thinking about lunch. But before he could even make it to the door the pretty girl, Rachel, was at his side smiling widely.

"Hello Finn." She ducked her head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Finn was again instantly taken by her. He looked at her as they walked out of the gym. "Hi Rachel." She looked up at him when he had said her name. Smiling at her he continued, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to see you actually. I figured you would be here, considering that you're new to Atlantis." She conveniently left out the stalkerish actions she had taken to actually find him. "And I just wanted to apologize for the other day in the hall. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I'm sorry."

Finn shook his head at her. "No it was my fault. I knocked you down." They were standing in the transporter now and he looked to Rachel for her to choose their destination.

She reached out and delicately touched the screen and the door closed and a moment later they were walking out into the hall that lead to Rachel's quarters. "Well let's not worry about whose fault it was. What are you doing now?" she asked, changing topics quickly.

"I was going to go take a shower and then get some food."

Before he could continue Rachel had placed her hand on Finn's elbow. "Well that's perfect. I was going to get some lunch soon too. We could eat together…if you want?" The last part spoken quietly and she wasn't sure if he even heard her.

Finn's eyes never left Rachel's hand on his arm. He was struck with the desire to reach out and trace her fingers with his own. Without looking up he answered her. "Yeah that sounds great. Want to meet in the mess hall in twenty minutes?"

Rachel had been so excited that Finn had agreed, she barely held in the squeak that threaten to escape her smiling mouth. "That sounds wonderful. See you then." She said as she practically skipped down the hall towards her room.

/

John lingered in the Jumper bay under the guise of checking out one of the other jumpers in the room. He had wanted to see how the other two boys would react to one another once he was out of the way. He watched as Puckerman approached Kurt and said a few short words to him. John was too far away to be able to make out what they were saying but the way Kurt was holding himself only made him more curious as to what they were talking about. The tension was so heavy in the air between the two that John felt as if it were weighing him down. He had just gathered enough courage to move closer when he saw Kurt stiffen his already ridged posture and then briskly walk away, his head held high.

John began to walk over to Puck when his radio buzzed in his ear, stopping him in his tracks as he reached up to answer the call. "This is Sheppard, go ahead."

Zelenka's accented voice filled his ears a moment later. "Colonel you might want to make your way down to Rodney's lab. He has made almost all the new scientists cry and I'm afraid if you don't come down here and calm him down, he may send them all back on the Daedalus before day is done."

"Copy that. I'll be there soon. Sheppard out." When John looked back to where he had last seen Puck…he was gone. Deciding it was better to go wrangle Rodney before he broke the new scientists, John turned and headed down to the labs.

John entered the labs to the sound of Rodney berating a young blond scientist that looked to be not much older than Rachel. John was sure the young girl would be in tears any minute but she continued to stare blankly at Rodney as he began to get louder by the second.

"What were they thinking when they sent a simpleton like you to me. They had to have known I wouldn't put up with something like this." Rodney was in full rant mode, his hands were gesturing wildly and his eyes were darting all around the room in fury. John smirked, he'd witnessed this type of rant many times, but it never failed to amuse him on some level.

The young girl was still staring at Rodney with vacant eyes as she tried to answer Rodney. "I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure it looks better this way."

Rodney squeaked. An actual squeak left his lips, John was certain that if he didn't intervene soon, Rodney might just explode, literally. Rodney was rarely ever as still as he was right now, and one look at his wild eyes was all John needed to see.

Stepping fully into the lab, John walked directly up to Rodney and nodded at Zelenka to get the blond scientist out of the room. John placed his hand on Rodney's shoulder and squeezed gently, turning Rodney to face him. Rodney was staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on some invisible point above John's shoulder.

"Rodney. Rodney….Rodney!" He locked his eyes with John's then. "Hey buddy. How's it going?"

"I…She…She…" Rodney couldn't seem to string together a coherent thought, let alone form a simple sentence.

"Breath buddy. What happened?" John tried to sound soothing and reassuring, rubbing his hands up and down Rodney's arms for comfort.

Rodney seemed to snap out of his haze then. "That little girl they sent me actually tried to hand me an equation written in crayon. Crayon John! Can you believe that?"

John didn't really, but Rodney was genuinely upset and he didn't think he would lie about something as ridiculous as that.

"I mean I know the saying about dumb blonds and everything, but that girl takes the cake! She then went into my computer and color coded all of my files. She said it looked prettier that way!" Rodney's hands moved of their own accord, grabbing at the front of John's uniform.

John tried to soothe the other man, disliking the fact that Rodney had yet to blink and he was sure the other man's blood pressure was spiking. He laid a hand against Rodney's cheek, forcing the eye contact again.

"Rodney…breathe." He commanded in a soft gentle tone.

Slowly, very slowly, the frantic went out of Rodney's eyes, his expression relaxing. John sighed happily, it was a step in the right direction. He rubbed his thumb gently over the other man's cheekbone.

"Now come on, let's go get something to eat and you can tell me all about what happened."

Rodney nodded quietly. John let his hand drop from the other man's face and tossed his arm over his shoulder instead, walking by his side as they left the lab. He knew that appealing to Rodney's stomach would be a good distraction.


	6. Chapter 6

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**A/N: Thanks to those who review and alert, it makes me smile. :) also sorry this is a short chapter but there is lots more in the works! Hope everyone had a good new years.**

Kurt was so wound up from his encounter with Puck in the jumper bay he wished that there was a mall in Pegasus, he was in desperate need of some good retail therapy. Since the nearest mall was an entire galaxy away, he decided to find Rachel so he could vent. He had listened to her for the past few days concerning Finn, she would be obligated to listen to him.

He knew she was going on "her mission" while he was at his flying lesson. Kurt slowed his pace as he realized that if it had gone as planned then she would have already cornered her prey. Counting it as a loss and deciding to find her later, he started in the direction of the mess hall.

Not bothering to look at the people occupying the tables when he entered the mess, Kurt went straight to the food line and picked out his lunch. The food wasn't always that appealing, but normally the week after a Daedalus arrival, there would be some more appetizing options available. Some of the Athosian fruits were good but there was nothing like real Earth food, Kurt mused. As he looked around at the crowded mess hall he realized that he wasn't the only one who thought so. He quickly considered taking his tray of food back to the labs, but then he spotted a smiling Rachel sitting across from an equally enthusiastic Finn.

He stood there in the middle of the room weighing his options, whether he should go down to the labs and leave Rachel to her flirting or go sit with her and face her wrath later. His musing was interrupted by a friendly bump to his right side, and he flicked his clear blue eyes up at the intruder. He paled when he saw that Puck was the one who had leaned into him. He was whispering something Kurt didn't hear, mostly because he was still trying to sort out the fact that the other boy was standing so close to him. Normally Kurt prided himself on being perceptive and observant, but Puck seemed to have a habit of knocking him off his game.

"….Laugh at them. Right?" Puck's words suddenly filtered in through his anxiousness, a playful grin on his face.

Kurt's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "What?"

Puck chuckled. "I said, we should go crash the love birds lunch and laugh at them." He winked at Kurt and started off toward Finn and Rachel, nodding for Kurt to follow.

Kurt wasn't really sure he wanted to spend another minute with Puck, but he did want to find out how Rachel was doing with her tall love interest. He reluctantly followed the well-built marine to the table.

"Hey people. Mind if we join you?" Puck asked, as he placed his tray on the table next to Finn, a smart ass grin on his face.

Finn's head snapped up at the sound of his friend's voice. "Puck! I thought you were on a jumper lesson with Colonel Sheppard?" Finn asked, shifting nervously in his seat.

Before Puck could answer his friend's nervous question, Rachel spotted Kurt. "Kurt, what are you doing here?" Rachel accused, darting her eyes between Kurt, Finn, and Puck.

Kurt cocked his head at Puck. "I had my jumper lesson with this." His words were laced with annoyance.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Puck accused. "I thought we worked really well together." The devilish grin was back in place.

Kurt rolled his eyes at Puck, something he felt he'd been doing a lot since he had met the marine. "Whatever you say." He really didn't think they meshed that well, what with Puck crowding his personal space and throwing him off kilter so much, but he wasn't about to start an argument about it now. Kurt sat down next to Rachel and gave her a look that clearly said he was sorry for interrupting, as she had glared at him the moment she realized that Kurt and Puck planned to join her and Finn, but quickly forgave him with a smile smile.

Puck and Finn were quietly arguing with each other while Kurt and Rachel watched in amused interest.

"Finn?" Rachel's soft voice stopped Finn's angry whispers.

His eyes fell on her sweet face with a bright smile lighting his face, he then turned to Kurt and reached out his hand for him to shake. "I'm Finn."

Blushing slightly, Kurt took his hand and introduced himself as Rachel's better half. Finn and Kurt shared a laugh and Rachel huffed out her annoyance. The conversation flowed smoothly between the four while they finished their meal. But any time Kurt would try to make conversation with Finn, he couldn't help feeling as though Puck was irritated with him. Kurt just brushed it off, not really caring either way what the other boy was thinking.

The four parted ways at the door leaving the mess hall, but not before Rachel and Finn made doe eyes at one another and set up plans to meet the next day. Kurt had thought it was sweet, maybe a little too sugary for his taste, but sweet nonetheless. Puck however seemed to be less than impressed, making gagging motions at the couple. Kurt was torn between a chuckle and the urge to step right up to Puck and talk some common courtesy into him. While Puck's expression was funny, it was a childish thing to do and Kurt was appalled by his behavior.

/ / / / / / / /

Later in the labs Kurt had the Ancient Cube device, as they have come to call it, sitting at his lab table and was running his scanner over it. The readings were still looking distinctly Ancient but also different at the same time. Rodney had dismissed the device after just a day and told Rachel and Kurt to figure it out because he had more important things he needed to attend to first. He had left them with strict instructions to not turn it on without him present and to "be careful", as if they wouldn't.

Kurt was tracing one long line on the side of the device when Rachel sighed heavily. He glanced over at his friend, who had been busy scouring the ancient database again. She looked a bit sad which kind of concerned him, considering she had been gushing happily about Finn for an hour before Kurt was able to get her focused on her work.

Brushing his bangs to the side Kurt sighed himself and put the scanner down. "Is everything okay Rachel?" He tried to keep his irritation out of his voice. But the way she sighed dramatically, again, told him she wouldn't have noticed had he shouted at her. "Rachel?"

"I'm sorry Kurt I just can't stop thinking about Finn." She met his eyes finally and he instantly realized that he had fallen into her trap, her eyes sparkling with wonder. "Do you think we would make a good couple? Will our children be cute? He would make a good husband. I mean he-"

Kurt laughed at his friends wonderings. "Seriously Rachel? _You just met_ him and you haven't even been on a real date yet, slow down." Before she could cut him off he held up his hand to stop any complaint. "Today in the mess doesn't count, especially since Puck and I were there."

Rachel interrupted then. "About that? Since when are you two friends? Weren't you complaining about him from the moment you two met?"

"Blame your father, he was the one who brought him along on the jumper lesson. And we are _not_ friends. He just happened to corner me in the mess and I only followed him to your table to make sure he didn't ruin anything for you." He stated blandly. "And he was extremely annoying the entire time we were flying. I don't understand him at all."

Rachel mulled over this information as she returned her focus to the screen. "Well you better be nice to him." The squawk of horror she heard from Kurt didn't deter her. "Puck is Finn's best friend and he told me, before you so rudely interrupted us, that they grew up together and they are practically brothers. And because you and I are the same way, I'm sure we will all be hanging out and you _will not _ruin my relationship with Finn because you have issues with Puck." She finished, her attention was now fully focused back on her work.

Kurt knew, even if he didn't want to admit it, that Rachel was right and he didn't want to be the one to interfere with something he knew she wanted and deserved. He would do his best to get along with the aggravating marine for Rachel's sake.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So this took longer to get up then I had planned because I had to go back and add some stuff to this to make what I'm working on now make more sense. Hopefully that makes sense. :) Anyway, thank you all for the Alerts and Reviews they make me happy to know that you are enjoying this.

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Before Kurt knew it, three weeks had passed since the Daedalus had docked and dropped off the new recruits, one being Rachel's new love intrest and his annoying best friend. Kurt had watched as Rachel seemed to completely fall for Finn and he was happy for her. Finn was good for Rachel, he even managed to steal her away from the labs for brief moments. Before Finn's arrival Kurt had been starting to worry about how his friend had spent nearly every waking hour in the science labs, but Finn had changed all that and Kurt was glad for it.

The down side to Rachel spending more time with Finn was that Kurt was now subjected to Finn's best friend, Puck, as a result. It had been hard enough to act normal and play nice during their combined jumper lessons, but now even his free time was becoming contaminated by the cocky marine. Whenever he hung out with Rachel outside of the labs, Finn and Puck showed up. Rachel naturally was overjoyed whenever Finn was near, but Kurt could have done without the tall man's sidekick. But since Kurt loved Rachel like a sister, he did what any good brother would do, he bit his tongue and tried his best to play nice with Puck.

Kurt could admit that the marine could be pleasant at times. They could make polite conversation and on many occasions Kurt even found himself holding back barks of laughter at Puck's good-natured ribbing of Finn. Kurt could tell the two were close just by the way they acted toward one another. And then there were other times, especially times like right now, when Kurt was forced to hold back his cutting remarks. Puck was wearing one of his lazy smirks, the one that said he was up to something, it put Kurt on edge.

Kurt and Puck were currently sitting in the Jumper waiting on Colonel Sheppard, who was running late. Kurt was beginning to become accustomed to the fact that his flying lessons were always going to have to be shared with the arrogant marine, it didn't mean he had to like the fact.

"So, Sheppard told me the reason he's pushing all of these jumper lessons on you is because you want on a gate team once you turn eighteen." Puck was leisurely sprawled in the copilot seat, dark eyes locked on Kurt's pale gaze.

Kurt stiffened in his seat. "He told you that?" his voice was soft and timid even to his own ears. Puck answered with a short nod and Kurt continued, "Why would he tell you?"

Puck shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he's thinking of putting us on the same team?" Sheppard had hinted to that fact the other day while they were on a run around the city. Puck was curious just what Kurt's reaction would be to that tidbit of information. Sheppard had told Puck that the two of them made a good team, and then sprung Kurt's secret on him. Ever since then Puck had wanted to get back in the jumper and prove to Sheppard just how well matched they really were.

After only a week on Atlantis, Puck had found himself being accepted into what he dubbed 'Sheppard's family' and it wasn't even because Finn was trying to date Rachel, because those two were keeping their flirting secret from her dads. Sheppard and the rest had just accepted both him and Finn without a second thought. The small group would get together for dinner several times a week and Puck had found he enjoyed it more and more as the days passed. The reason why he liked it so much had hit him like a punch to the face the other night at dinner. It wasn't because he felt as though he was a part of something that he never really had while growing up, which he didn't, but because he liked to watch the way Kurt acted with his family. The younger boy always seemed to hide his true self from others but while surrounded by his family, the façade he wore would falter and Puck would get glimpses of the real Kurt, the one he wanted to get to know better.

Sheppard came jogging up the jumper ramp and into his usual seat, just behind the pilot chair. "Sorry I'm late guys. I got kind of tied up with something." He placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder and smirked at the two boys. "So, are you two ready for some fun?"

Kurt and Puck looked at each other with confusion, then looked back to Sheppard. "What do you mean?" Puck asked.

"You're going to take the jumper through the space gate." Sheppard's smile nearly split his face in two.

"Cool." Puck exhaled.

Kurt on the hand was slightly unnerved, both from what Sheppard had just said and what puck had just revealed. But he maneuvered the jumper up through the open ceiling and into the atmosphere above without letting on that he had to will his hands not to shake. He positioned the jumper in front of the gate and then looked to John for further direction.

"Okay Kurt just relax. This is no different than when we practiced last week." Sheppard tried to sooth the young boy.

Kurt released a shaky breath. "Yeah right. The only difference is it's not practice, it's real. What if I mess up and we end up in a million pieces and they won't even be able to identify us from our teeth?" Kurt's frightened thoughts were stopped by both Sheppard and Puck's amused barks of laughter.

Puck reached out his hand and placed it on Kurt's forearm. Kurt's startled blue eyes locked with his and Puck's breath caught in his throat at the intensity of the gaze. He felt as if he would drown in the oceans of blue that seemed to pierce through to see everything that he was and more. He swallowed thickly a couple of times and forced his breathing back to its normal rhythm. "You'll do fine." He managed and moved his hand back to his own controls.

Kurt nodded his head and dialed the gate to the address Sheppard had pre-chosen. Once the final chevron locked the gated whooshed to life, casting a blue hue across the jumper window.

"Alright Kurt. Nice and easy." Sheppard instructed, leaning over Kurt and watching as he eased the jumper through the gate without incident.

On the other side Kurt released his breath, finally relaxing a bit, but he also heard the other two occupants do the same thing. Kurt whipped his head toward them and shot them both menacing glares. "I thought you knew I could do it? Why were you two holding your breath?"

"You're imaging things, princess. We had all the confidence in the world you would pull it off." Puck teased.

No matter how many times Puck called Kurt _princess_ it never failed to get the result he desired. A faint blush always crawled up his neck to his cheeks and colored them a pretty shade of pink. Puck rarely called him princess in front of Sheppard but this time he couldn't resist.

John Sheppard was always amused by the way Puck and Kurt interacted with each other, it reminded him of Rodney and himself when they had first met. Sheppard still loved to tease Rodney as it was and he always enjoyed being the one to get the other man flustered. _It seems like Puck likes to do the same thing to Kurt. _But John's thoughts were ripped from him when the jumper suddenly lurched to the side.

"What's going on?" Kurt's frantic voice filled the small space of the jumper interior.

"I think we are losing power." Puck called out.

Sheppard shuffled Puck out of his seat and took over, searching for any indication on what was causing the tilt in the jumper's flight.

Puck shifted from foot to foot, hovering above Kurt. "Can we get the jumper back to the gate?"

Shaking his head, Kurt willed the jumper to turn but it wasn't responding to any of his commands. "I don't think so. The jumper is going down. Can you get it to respond?" Kurt asked, never taking his eyes off the HUD readouts. He was rapidly checking through systems in an effort to find out what the malfunction was.

John reached out and tapped in several commands with no response. "No. we're going down. Kurt lets try to set it down on the planet, slowly."

Nodding his head and moving his hands into position Kurt tried his best to even out the jumper's flight path. He was shaking and his stomach was in knots, his anxiety reached a fever pitch and Kurt willed himself not to throw up. But then Puck moved his hand onto Kurt's shoulder and squeezed gently. Usually Puck's close proximity alone would be enough to leave him a jittery ball of nerves, which Kurt usually equated to disdain, but was beginning to think otherwise because the welcome heat of Puck's hand on his shoulder in that moment calmed and soothed him down to his bones.

Sheppard guided the jumper, with Kurt's help, down to the planet and landed with a thud on the surface, all three letting out sighs of relief for the second time that day. Scanning the readings on the HUD he saw that they hadn't lost power but something was draining it rapidly. "Kurt how much do you know about the jumper systems?"

"I've read through everything we have on them. Let me check it out." He said, jumping up from his seat and plucking a computer tablet from a drawer and moving into the back of the jumper.

As Kurt pulled a control panel off and started pulling wires down and plugging them into his computer, Puck was already missing the slim shoulder under his palm. Puck focused his attention back to Sheppard, who was trying to get a lock on the gate.

"We're too far from the space gate to get a lock. I'm going to check and see if there is anything nearby." Sheppard explained. From his research he had known this planet didn't have a stargate on it and also that there were some indigenous people that lived here, but a team hadn't been sent to the planet yet and he didn't know if they would be friendly or not.

Kurt hollered from the rear of the jumper still fussing with all the wires. "I think I saw an energy spike on the screen to the north of us just before we landed. It disappeared before I could tell what it was."

The lights inside the jumper suddenly grew bright before they dimmed down to almost nothing. Only a few blue lights lit the interior, the HUD going completely black.

"What'd you do?" Sheppard yelled from his seat.

"What do you mean, what did I do? What did you touch?" Kurt accused right back, walking back to the front of the jumper. "Because _I _didn't do anything."

"Well its dead." He said, knocking the control panel in front of him. Kurt grabbed Sheppard's hands and gave him a look that clearly said "_don't do that again"._ John had to fight the chuckle that bubbled up inside him as Kurt's irritated action reminded him of Rodney.

Puck was standing in the same position he had been since they had made their unscheduled landing on the planet. He was concerned at first but then relaxed when he realized they weren't going to crash and that Kurt and Sheppard had it under control. He felt useless the entire time the jumper was in course to the planet.

After about a half hour of Kurt tinkering with the jumper, Sheppard was resigned to just wait it out. The team would come for them soon anyway. John had only scheduled two hours for the practice run through the gate and the moment they were overdue John was certain that Burt Hummel would have a search party out for his son and a P90 pointing at John.

Sheppard had been late getting to the lesson because an angry Burt had stopped him in the hallway. He had been curious as to why John was being so adamant about Kurt's flying lessons and the fact that he was taking Kurt through the gate had him a little on edge. John had tried to reassure the over protective father that Kurt would be fine and it wasn't like they were going into combat, he had told him, only to receive a glare so menacing he was sorry he had even said it. Without giving away the fact that Kurt wanted on a 'gate team, John had settled his friend down and escaped down the hall. John was the only one who knew of Kurt's desire to be on a gate team.

John looked to the two boys. Puck was standing to Kurt's left holding the computer, smirking at Kurt who was tangled in all of the wires he had pulled from the console. John suppressed a laugh and called out to them. "Okay. I think we should just wait for the rescue team. We'll be overdue in 45 minutes anyway."

Kurt stopped fighting against the wires to give John an apologetic look. "Dad's going to be mad, isn't he?"

"I don't think mad is the most accurate of descriptions. Furious…murderous, maybe." Seeing the look on Kurt's face John wanted to reassure him. "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault anyway."

"But…" Kurt tried to interject but John cut him off before he could.

"No. It's fine." Kurt still didn't look convinced so John changed topics, trying to distract him. "Well, we might as well enjoy the sunshine until the rescue party comes for us."

John walked over to one of the compartments and pulled out two P90s, handing one to Puck and taking the other for himself.

Kurt eyed the weapons warily. "What are you expecting to happen?" He questioned looking to John.

Puck had set the computer aside and he and John were both inspecting their weapons. They looked up at Kurt's question.

"Nothing but I don't know exactly what we are going to find on this planet and I just want to be prepared." John answered. "I know there are some native people on this planet, but as far as I can tell their settlement is a few miles away. Hopefully they won't be wandering over this way until after we leave."

John went to the rear hatch of the jumper and opened the ramp manually. The bright sunshine filled the back of the jumper, causing the three of them to shield their eyes from the offending brightness. John reached into one of his uniform pockets and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and placed them on his face.

Puck looked to him with disbelief. "You just happen to have sunglasses in your pocket?"

John pushed his glassed up the bridge of his nose and smirked at him.

John sauntered outside and checked the perimeter, searching for any immediate threat. When his search was complete he looked to Puck who had been standing at the jumper ramp watching his back. Puck had Kurt situated behind him, out of view. John was impressed that he didn't even have to tell the young marine to watch out for Kurt, he had just done it automatically. John had a strict policy that the scientists always be protected in any situation, especially if they could get hurt, it was the military's job to protect them. John gave Puck a signal and he relaxed his stance and walked down the ramp with Kurt following closely.

The surrounding area was thick and lush with greenery. They had landed in a small clearing but there was a circle of trees and shrubs around them that looked like it led into a large forest. John moved to a large tree and sat down at the base reclining back against the trunk. His legs were outstretched and he tilted his head back to rest against the tree. Puck strode over to a big boulder and sat down, enjoying the warm breeze as it drifted over him.

Kurt was standing at the base of the ramp eyeing his surroundings. He looked around trying to decide if he really wanted to sit on the dirty ground or just stay standing until help arrived. Puck had taken notice of Kurt's stricken features and looked around trying to figure out what was causing him such distress. Kurt had moved closer to Puck and was eyeing the rock he was sitting on warily. Puck figured out his problem then. Puck pulled his P90 strap from around his neck and shrugged off his jacket. Replacing his weapon back to its previous position, he spread his jacket out next to him.

Kurt had been watching him the entire time wondering what the other boy was doing. Puck tilted his head at the smaller boy, silently calling him closer. Uncomfortable, Kurt looked over to Sheppard for help but he looked to be napping. Kurt shambled over to Puck to see what he wanted. When Kurt got within reach Puck pulled him in by his sleeve, forcing him to sit next to him on his jacket.

Kurt tried not to react but failed. His eyes grew wide in shock and he squeaked out a response. "What are you doing?"

"Relax. Now you stay clean." He said, shrugging his shoulders like it wasn't a big deal.

Kurt looked down to his hands and was wringing them together nervously, a shy smile pulling at his lips. "Thank you."

"No worries." Puck said looking to Kurt. "But can I ask you something?" Kurt nodded to him and Puck continued. "How are you going to be on a gate team if you can't even sit outside without being worried about getting dirty?" Kurt tried to interrupt but Puck didn't let him. "No, hear me out. What if the next big discovery was in an old dusty room filled with cobwebs and the only way to get to it was to crawl through all the dirt and grime to get to it? What would you do then?" He smirked.

Puck's tone was serious but his smile was playful, letting Kurt know he was only teasing but genuinely curious as well.

"That's different." Kurt began, his serious tone had Puck listening to his every word. "To be the first to discover new technology and figure out what it does and how it works, that's what I want. Being on a gate team will allow that and it may not seem like it but I do like to be outside and I don't mind getting dirty when the situation calls for it."

Puck's mouth stretched into a lecherous grin and Kurt rolled his eyes at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter that is not what I meant and you know it."

John was watching the two silently from his recline against the tree, a smile pulling at his lips. Those two never ceased to amuse him. He himself had been surprised when Kurt had come to him and requested to be on a gate team. Kurt seemed more like a lab rat than an explorer to John but Kurt had been adamant about being given a chance. John had been reluctant but had given in and promised him at least a chance to prove himself, so far John had been impressed and was warming up to the idea. He was curious what Rachel's reaction to Kurt's decision to join a team would be. The two did everything together and he didn't want there to be any hurt feelings from it. John was listening to the quiet conversation between the two when Puck suddenly shot to his feet and readied his weapon.

"What is it?" Kurt's frightened whisper broke the silence. Puck signaled him to be quiet and Kurt was at Puck's back, clutching the back of the larger boy's shirt gently.

John was on his feet an instant after Puck, scanning their surroundings. He heard a twig crack under a foot and shifted his stance and pointed his weapon in the direction the sound came from.

Puck was slowly inching Kurt and himself back to the safety of the jumper when a person stepped into view. Both John and Puck had their weapons pointed at the unfamiliar man the second he was visible. The man, who looked to be in his late thirties was dressed simply in what looked like white linen trousers and a loose fitting white linen pullover with a blue border around his sleeves and around the collar. His dark hair was slicked back and face had twisted in fear the moment he had stumbled on to the three of them and saw their weapons directed at him. A moment later two more men appeared out from the thicket of trees behind the first man, followed by two women clutching small brown satchels to their chest. The others were similarly dressed like the first man but upon closer examination the first man's top was more elaborately decorated.

The first stranger tentatively stepped forward and held up his hands. "I am Mekai of Ranhado and these are my people. We mean you no harm." Pointing to the two men he continued. "This is Joryn and Zanth and they are Alyoni and Lyri." He finished, gesturing to the two women. "We saw your ship land in this area and we came to see if you needed help. We have not had visitors for many generations, other than the wraith who would show up and take many of us each time they appeared, but they have not been here for a long time."

John cautiously looked from the strangers to Puck and Kurt, who were still standing together near the boulder. He didn't lower his weapon but he did smile at the villagers, from what he could tell they weren't armed and that eased his nerves slightly. "I'm Colonel Sheppard, this is Lieutenant Puckerman and Kurt." John stated cautiously.

Mekai smiled welcomingly at them. "It is good to meet you all. You are form the city of the ancestors, are you not?" He asked looking at the Jumper then to John.

Tightening his grip on his P90, John inclined his head at the man. "Why do ask that?"

"The flying machine you came in." He motioned behind John. "I have seen pictures of the machine many times before. The Ancients used to visit this world often, but sadly the war with the wraith became too great and then suddenly they stopped coming to this planet. Our people still study the writings they had left behind."

John still hadn't lowered his weapon and the four other strangers hadn't moved from their previous positions. "The Ancients flew here?" he asked skeptically.

"Sometimes." Mekai stated simply. "But I believe they traveled through the ring that once stood on Ranhado. Sadly the ring of the ancestors has been lost for many generations and although we have searched for it we have been unsuccessful in locating it."

Mekai looked to John again, his penetrating gaze causing John to shift from one foot to the other. Mekai took a few hesitant steps toward John again. Sheppard paced back a step and fixed the stranger with a menacing look.

"Colonel, we mean you no harm. We welcome new comers. As I have said it has been a long time and we would enjoy your company. I know I, as well as others at our village would be please to meet you and to learn about what is happening among the other planets." Mekai tried to calm John. "We have food and drink back at our village. It is not far from here."

Normally if John had come across people like this on a mission he would have been pleased, but having Kurt with him had him on edge. John couldn't count how many times they had stumbled across villagers that seemed to be friendly and then turn out not to be. Had he been with his team he would already be on his way to the food, Rodney would have been all for it. Giving a brief cursory look at Puck told him the young marine was ready and waiting for John's command, whatever it may be. Seeing that had filled John with confidence and he let his grip on his gun slacken as he lowered it to point at the ground.

"That sounds very nice, Mekai. But I do want to tell you our friends will be here shortly so we won't be able to stay for long." He drawled out, lazily slumping to one foot.

Puck studied Sheppard's posture and noticed the change. Taking his cue from John, Puck lowered his weapon as well but didn't let go. He was conscious of Kurt at his back the entire time, he could feel the warmth of his hands tightening and untightening in the fabric of his shirt. The touch was keeping Puck grounded, all of his concern was on the smaller boy at his back and he would do anything he could to keep him safe.

Bringing his hands together in excitement, Mekai smiled widely at them all. "That is wonderful news. I'm so happy to hear it." The other strangers seemed to relax from their ridged stance from the information and walked up to greet them all. Sheppard smiled and waved to them.

When they had stepped closer to Puck and Kurt, Puck couldn't help but block them from getting too close to Kurt. He shifted his stance and nodded curtly at them with a reluctant smile. They had immediately taken the gesture for what it was, protectiveness, and didn't seem to take offence. Puck was still timid, he wanted to believe their hospitality to be true, but he wasn't willing to risk Kurt's safety. Looking at Sheppard he had known he had done the right thing.

"Alright, shall we head back towards our village?" Mekai asked directing his question to John.

"Lead the way." Sheppard said waving them on ahead, "We're right behind you."


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt was still at Puck's back, his hands fisted in Puck's thin black shirt. Puck and Sheppard exchanged a look and John walked over to them. Looking to Kurt he said, "Stay close to us. If anything happens I want you to get back to the jumper and get yourself inside, don't worry about us and stay there until help arrives. Do you understand?" He asked in his commanding voice that brokered no defiance.

Kurt wanted to argue but the look in John's eyes told him it would be pointless, instead he nodded sharply. Content with that for his answer, Sheppard took the lead behind the Ranhadians, silently giving Puck the signal to watch out for Kurt.

Puck slowly released his P90 to one hand and reached back to his shirt where Kurt was gripping it. He gently pulled Kurt's hand from his shirt and took it into his. He looked back to Kurt reassuringly. Kurt seemed to startle at first from the unforeseen touch, but upon seeing Puck's gentle smile he relaxed and let Puck lace their fingers together as they started after Sheppard.

At one point during their brief hike to the village John looked back to Puck and Kurt and saw the two hand in hand. He didn't question it because he knew Kurt was safe with the marine. But he was definitely going to have to ask what was going on between the two later. He had been suspicious since that first jumper lesson, but over the last couple of days his intuition told him the two were more than just friends.

The trek to the village only took about fifteen minutes but the terrain was not exactly easy going. Mekai and the others seemed to know their way around the forest, which made it a little less demanding. By the time they made it to the village John was relieved to see that they only had about another fifteen minutes before they were late for their check in and if he knew Burt like he thought he did, then it wouldn't be any more than twenty minutes before a rescue team was launched.

Mekai led them to what looked like a small family house from the outside in the center of the village. The inside was set up like an old time tavern would have looked back on Earth. There were a few wooden tables scattered around the large open room with a long counter that ran the length of one wall. Clear glass bottles with amber colored liquid lined the numerous shelves behind the counter. A moment later a large man came bustling out from the back humming a mellow tune.

"Hello Mekai." The man stopped in his tracks and looked them up and down, momentarily shocked to see three newcomers. They had gotten multiple shocked stares from the instant they has entered the village. "Where did you find them?" The large man asked in a deep baritone voice that filled the room.

"They came on a ship from the city of the ancestors." Alyon answered happily.

"Really?" the man seemed to be a bit too excited by the news, but John brushed it off thinking he was just happy to finally see new people.

Enthusiastically the chubby man ushered them to one of the large tables and pulled up more chairs for everyone. Puck purposely kept his hold on Kurt's hand and situated him between himself and Sheppard. Kurt relaxed a bit once he was settled between them. Drinks and food were brought out to them and the Ranhadians happily began asking John questions. John had politely answered them all without giving away too much about themselves, while sipping on one of the local drinks that had been brought to the table.

Puck shifted in seat a bit closer to Kurt and listened to the people around him silently. He wasn't sure why but he didn't feel comfortable trusting them yet. He wondered if it was just because Kurt was there and he didn't want anything to happen to him or if his instincts were correct and these people had ulterior motives. He felt Kurt lean into him just a fraction more and he let out a sigh, as he brushed his thumb over the top of the smaller boys soft hand. The action seemed to sooth both of them and Puck was able to make light conversation with the group and nod at appropriate times.

Just as Sheppard had predicted twenty minutes after their arrival at the village, his radio squawked in his ear. Smiling at his friends predictability he reached up to his radio. "This is Sheppard. Go ahead."

Dr. Weir's calm voice sounded in his ear. "Good to hear your voice Colonel. You know you are overdue?" She asked and John could swear he could hear her smile.

Bumping his shoulder with Kurt's playfully he smirked knowingly. "I do and you are right on schedule. Is Burt right there?"

"Yes he is. Would you like to speak with him?"

Kurt and Sheppard shared a giggle. "We're fine Burt. Kurt is fine but…we kind of need someone to fly a jumper and come help us out. We had to make an unscheduled landing on the nearby planet. You might want to send McKay and Zelenka, our jumper seems to have a malfunction." John waited for the yelling and panic he knew his friend was holding in but it never came. There was a pause before Dr. Weir came back on.

"Alright a team should be there in about ten minutes. Is there anything else?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh yeah. We made some new friends." He told her cheerily.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

The rescue team consisted of McKay, Zelenka, Ronon, Teyla, and an angry looking Burt Hummel. They had met them in the village after landing at the downed jumper. John made the introductions and left Teyla and Ronon to mingle with the Ranhadians, making arrangements to be allies and possible trade opportunities in the future. The rest of them went back to the Jumper to make the repairs.

Puck took up a watchful eye on the three scientists in the jumper while Burt pulled John out of earshot of the others, most likely to yell at him. Puck watched the two of them warily, wondering just how bad Sheppard was getting it from the angry father. He was kind of concerned he would have to face this man's wrath in the future if things with Kurt progressed in the direction he wanted. As soon as Burt was in the village Puck had reluctantly released Kurt's hand, but smiled to him letting Kurt know he wasn't going anywhere.

It only took the three scientists an hour to get the jumper up and running again and in that time Teyla had established a trade agreement with the new people and promised to send a team to research some of the things the Ancients had left behind. Rodney, Zelenka, Teyla, and Ronon took the newly fixed jumper and John, Burt, Puck and Kurt took the other back to Atlantis.

Burt had pulled his son to him in a tight embrace once they were safely back on Atlantis and told him they would talk later. He then proceeded to grab a hold of John again and practically drag him out of the jumper and out of sight, leaving Puck and Kurt standing in the jumper alone.

Puck walked up to Kurt and took his small pale hand in his, both their eyes lingering on their linked hands. "Your dad's kind of scary." He said, not meeting Kurt's eyes.

"Ya, he can be, sorry." Kurt whispered.

Puck was still looking at Kurt's delicate pale fingers entwined with his own larger tanned ones and smiled slightly. He couldn't resist the urge to be closer to the smaller boy, he bent down to him, touching their foreheads together like the Athosian greeting. When he spoke his breath puffed hotly against Kurt's lips, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Don't be." Puck breathed.

Kurt's mouth suddenly went dry and instinctively he licked his lips trying to regain some of the moisture required to swallow. Puck caught the motion from Kurt's pink tongue and tracked it with his eyes, his breath catching in his throat. On the planet Puck had come to the conclusion that the feelings he had for Kurt were not going away. The feelings he thought he would never have for someone, let alone a prissy boy scientist, but he was determined not to let the other boy slip away from him.

He looked back into Kurt's bright gaze and without thinking about it, leaned in the few inches that separated them and pressed their lips together. It could barely be called a kiss; it was more like lips touching then a kiss. But the gentle touch of Kurt's soft lips sent a wave of heat through Puck's body, emanating from their joined mouths and radiating outwards.

Puck wanted to deepen the kiss but was concerned about Kurt's response. He pulled away enough to look in Kurt's eyes and searched his flushed face for any indication the kiss was unwelcome. He was pleasantly surprised to see Kurt timidly reach up with his free hand and trace his lips with the tips of his fingers, a smile curving his them upwards.

"Was that okay?" Puck questioned softly.

Kurt's eyes glistened with happiness. "More than okay." He whispered breathlessly, almost inaudible if Puck hadn't been standing so close.

Puck was about to lean in for another sweet kiss when the moment was ruined, they heard McKay's loud voice yell to them from the other jumper. "Is everything okay? Are you gonna come help me or what Kurt?"

Reluctantly they pulled apart, smiling at each other as they walked down the jumper ramp together.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for sticking with this story so far I hope you are liking it! :) I have a bunch more written and I'm still writing more. Reviews are always nice and help keep me motivated to get chapters out quicker. So here's the next part and I hope you all enjoy! :)**

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Puck waved to Kurt as he left and Kurt walked into the back of the jumper. Rodney was busy tapping on his tablet PC while Zelenka was crouched down pulling wires from a console. Kurt could still feel the tingle on his lips and the blush burning his cheeks but tried to ignore the sensations as he walked up to Rodney.

"What do you want me to start with?" Kurt's voice sounded rough even to his own ears.

Rodney looked frazzled as he darted his eyes around the jumper rapidly until they came across Zelenka. Pointing at the other man Rodney said, "You can take over for Zelenka."

Zelenka's crazy haired head popped out of the console he was working on and eyed Rodney suspiciously. "What am I supposed to do then?"

The crazy look in Rodney's eyes concerned both occupants of the jumper and they eyed each other warily. Snapping his fingers with a triumphant smile on his lips Rodney said, "You can get me some lunch!" Zelenka crossed his arms across his chest and gave Rodney a disbelieving look. Rodney wasn't going to let that stop him though. "What? If I don't eat something soon I could pass out. I'm hypoglycemic. And I'm smarter than you so I can't be spared, unlike you who can go get me lunch and you wouldn't be missed."

Accepting defeat Zelenka skulked out of the jumper muttering under his breath in Czech. Kurt was able to cover up his giggles at the man's obvious dismay by pretending to cough. As soon as Zelenka was out of view Rodney moved in on Kurt, pushing right up into his personal space. Kurt didn't know how to react to the sudden invasion, he stood frozen, eyes wide, waiting to see what Rodney was doing.

He didn't have to wait long and instant later Rodney was practically yelling at him. "Your dad's gonna kill him, you know that right?" Rodney's eyes were searching and wild as he looked at Kurt.

Kurt was confused by Rodney's words. _Kill who? Why?_ Before he could ask, Rodney was speaking again.

"I know if I caught Rachel sneaking around with some marine she would never see the light of day again. Then he would be on the next ship back to Earth, that is if I didn't push him through a space gate first." Rodney's head tilted to the side as if considering just how he would accomplish the task of killing someone.

The pieces were slowly coming together for Kurt when Rodney finally started to slow down. "I saw you two." He ended simply, waiting for Kurt's reply.

Kurt found himself unable to respond, the fear keeping his voice locked somewhere he couldn't get to. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Several thoughts started racing through his head so fast he could barely make sense of them. The two prominent ones being, find Rachel and warn her about her father plans to push Finn through the space gate and finally the one thought that made itself heard louder than the others which he practically shrieked. "Please don't tell my dad!"

It was Rodney's turn to gape like a fish out of water. He expected Kurt to deny all of it but he hadn't and Rodney was at a loss as how to respond. "I…I…okay." It wasn't the most intelligent response but it seemed to work in calming both of them down. "I won't… but you should, before things get to the point where years from now we are still looking for all of the body parts."

Kurt was pretty sure that visual wasn't that far off if his father did find out about this thing between him and Puck, whatever it was becoming. Kurt managed a quick nod, feeling more uncomfortable then he thought he ever had. Self-consciously crossing his arms across his chest Kurt looked around for anything he could use to make an escape before things grew more awkward, thankfully Sheppard chose that moment to slink into the jumper looking a little tense.

"Hey guys. Figure out what happened with the jumper?" He drawled lazily walking over to stand at Rodney's side. He looked between the young scientist and his lover sensing the tension in the small confines of the jumper.

"Not yet. But I need to find Rachel she…uh..." Kurt shifted from foot to foot not meeting either man's eyes. "We were going to have lunch together today." He lied, quickly shuffling back out of the jumper.

"Okay. But Kurt?" Sheppard called after him, stopping Kurt's retreat.

"Yeah?" He asked worry etching his features.

"We have to talk later today. Okay?"

Kurt nodded his head and practically ran from the jumper bay. Sheppard watched in confusion as Kurt ran out. Shrugging his shoulders he turned to Rodney. "What was that about?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of Kurt's retreating form.

Rodney grabbed John by his shoulders and forcefully turned him around to face him. Looking into John's is dark eyes, Rodney spoke without pause. "I just saw one of your marines kiss Kurt!"

A smile tugged on the corner of John's mouth, he wasn't that surprised. "Was it Puck?"

Rodney's eyes grew so big John thought they might pop out of his head. "You Knew?" He gasped. "You knew and you didn't do anything about it?"

Turning to lean against the back of the pilot seat John pulled Rodney to stand in the space between his legs. "Relax Rodney. I only suspected something was going on, but now that I know for sure I can watch them more closely." He had his hands on Rodney's hips, rubbing his thumbs soothingly in circles over his hipbones.

Usually John's touch alone would have Rodney like putty in John's hands, pliant and willing to do anything John wanted but he was too riled up to give in completely. "I can't believe you suspected something but did nothing!" He tried to pull out of John's grip but John held him tighter, not letting him get away.

Amused by Rodney's reactions John tried to placate him. "Lay off Kurt…I remember a loud mouth scientist stealing a few kisses from a certain flyboy in the same jumper bay…and your lab and the conference room and Elisabeth's office and…"

Rodney cut John off by wildly waving his hands and shaking his head. Seemingly defeated for the moment Rodney leaned into John. "I still can't believe you knew and didn't say something." He actually seemed hurt that John hadn't told him.

"Rodney, you've seen them together right?" he questioned.

Snorting his disbelief at John he eyed him skeptically. "Of course! They are always arguing and bickering."

John only raised his eyebrows and smiled as his answer. Rodney cocked his head to the side and considered John's words. "Huh? Well…I guess so." Realizing what this meant an evil smile split his face and he asked, "Have you told Burt yet?"

"Hell no! I want to live." They both chuckled. "Besides I already got ripped apart by that man today, twice!" Rodney gave him a concerned look as John reached up to pull him down by the back of his neck, stealing a quick kiss. The kiss started off soft and sweet but quickly dissolved into a much more heated battle for control; John was nipping at Rodney's bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth, yanking a soft moan from Rodney's throat. When they finally pulled away to gasp for much needed breath, Rodney stared into John's hazel eyes lovingly, lust clearly visible within the depths of his dilated pupils.

Rodney's whispered voice against John's mouth was a harsh sound that shot tingles down John's spine and raised goose bumps all over his skin. "I should probably get back to work."

"Rodney." John voice was soft and pleading. "I need this right now. I need you." He brought both his hands up to Rodney's face tracing his fingers along the ridge of his eyebrows down his cheeks and then to his lips. He could feel Rodney's hot breath ghost across the tips of his fingers as he trailed his finger across kiss swollen lips, heating his desire.

"John." Rodney looped his arms around John's neck and sagged into him, letting John support his weight.

John responded by bringing Rodney's lips back to his. Rodney kissed like he did everything else, with skill and enthusiasm. John melted into the kiss, running his fingers through Rodney's hair. Rodney pulled away sharply to glare at his lover.

"What do you have against my hair?" His tone was harsh but his slanted smile gave away how he was really feeling.

"I told you before, I like your hair." He smirked. "Now stop pulling away and kiss me."

Rodney didn't move for a few moments then smiled as he placed a kiss on John's waiting lips. John's hands snaked around Rodney's back and yanked the tucked in fabric up, then moving up to trace random patterns into the warm skin of his lower back. Rodney let a small moan escape his mouth and pushed closer to John, bringing their hips together. Things were quickly progressing in a direction that shouldn't happen in the open jumper, John realized.

Breaking the kiss he pulled back just enough to catch Rodney's eyes. "Maybe we should go to our room. It's lunch time anyway, no one will notice if we slip away for a bit."

"Or we could just close the jumper ramp and continue what we started right here." Rodney murmured, raking his fingers through John's wild dark hair.

John seemed to like that idea because he smiled against Rodney's warm lips and reached up to pull his jacket off, letting it fall at their feet. Rodney had his hand on John's belt when they heard a mumble of accented words from behind them. Rodney slowly pulled away from John to look behind them. Standing at the end of the jumper ramp was an annoyed looking Zelenka with a tray of food in his hands.

"You didn't really want food did you McKay? You used as an excuse to get me away so you can make out with the Colonel." The annoyance shone plain as day in the way he spoke to them. "If that was what you wanted you should have just said so."

"That's not why I… it was because…well, it's John's fault!" He accused pointing behind him to a disheveled looking John.

He jumped up from his sprawl against the seat and looked to Rodney. "How is it my fault? I'm the one who said we should go back to our room. You're the one who said to stay here." He accused right back.

"Well…you didn't close the ramp!"

"It was your idea, you should have closed it!" The two were in full bickering mode and Zelenka knew he would have to stop it, otherwise this could go on for a while.

Stepping between the two and separating them the best he could he said, "How about we all break for lunch and then Rodney and I can meet back here in an hour?" He looked from Rodney to John and hoped that had put an end to their argument.

The two seemed to be able to speak to each other just using their eyes and then after a few tense moments John spoke. "Let's make it an hour and half." He smirked and John grabbed Rodney by the front of his shirt and dragged him out of the jumper bay.

Zelenka stood watching the two rush out of the room knowing that when he met up with Rodney later he would be a much easier person to work with. They would probably be able to work together without as much condescending tones as Rodney usually threw at him.


	10. Chapter 10

Kurt found Rachel in the labs daydreaming in front of her computer screen. She'd been so lost in her daze that she hadn't noticed the screen saver had kicked on. Kurt could tell she was happy, her smile was content and dreamy as he watched her for a few moments before making himself known. He watched as she sighed to herself happily and bit her bottom lip. _This might be easier than I thought._ Steadying himself, he strode over to her and waited for her to notice.

It only took a few moments for her to see him and then she was up and out of her chair so fast that he barely had time to brace himself for her impact. She grabbed him by his shoulders and squeezed, forcing him to meet her smiling eyes. "You won't believe what happened to me today!"

She was so excited that he was afraid to bring up the subject of Finn and her dad. "Rachel I have to tell you something. It's about-"

She cut him off before he could say anything else. "Don't interrupt Kurt, this is important."

"So is this." He tried but failed to get her attention.

"I highly doubt that it's more important than this." She proclaimed, her smile growing as she moved back to sit at her desk.

Kurt watched his friend with disbelief. "Rachel, didn't you notice I'm here late?"

"As a matter of fact I did and you're lucky that I'm not upset with you." She smiled sweetly at him. "Do you know why?" When he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders at her she continued. "I was sitting here waiting on you earlier, when Finn showed up. He came down here and surprised me by asking me to have lunch with him. I had assumed that it would be like any other time but this was so perfect. He took me out to a secluded balcony that had a beautiful view of the city."

Kurt was itching to tell Rachel about his day and the kiss and her dad's reaction to it. But she continued her retelling of her lunch date with Finn.

"He even had a rose sitting in the center of the table. It's the most beautiful rose I have ever seen." She sighed dreamily, pointing toward where the flower lay on her desk.

Kurt looked to the flower in question, it was an exotic rose that grew on the mainland. _Finn must have had to make a couple deals to get one of those. _"Pretty." He said, softening to Rachel's story.

The smile she turned on him then was blinding. He stepped back, concerned about what she would say next. She surprised him when she spoke softly. "He kissed me." Her voice was softer than Kurt had ever heard her before and she looked ridiculously happy.

His jaw dropped in shock at the bomb shell his best friend had just hit him with. Gathering his emotions he smirked at her. _We both received our first kiss today_, he thought. Then another thought hit him. _Did Puck and Finn plan this? _Shaking the thought from his mind he turned his attention back to Rachel and gave her a brilliant smile to match hers.

He intended to congratulate her, but instead blurted out, "Me too!"

Rachel fixed Kurt with a glare so menacing it would frighten a starving wraith. "Finn kissed you too?" she managed to sound both threatening and hurt at the same time.

Startled, Kurt tried to back peddle their conversation in his head. Realizing his mistake he quickly tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "I meant I… I…" A blush began to creep up his neck to stain his cheeks. "I was kissed today too, by someone else!"

Rachel's tense posture immediately changed from threatening to overjoyed happiness. "What? Who?" she grabbed his hands in hers and was practically bouncing in place with excitement.

Kurt shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, not making eye contact with his friend. He was unsure how Rachel would react to the knowledge that Puck had been the one to give him his first kiss. He'd been evasive with her about his feelings toward the marine, partly because he hadn't wanted to take anything away from her relationship with Finn, and also partly because he'd been confused about Puck himself. His feelings toward the marine had gone from irritation to affection somewhere over the past weeks, and their time together on the planet had cemented the change. Kurt knew now that Puck was someone he could possibly grow to love, and share something with. He met Rachel's eyes finally and took a deep breath.

"Puck." He said.

He watched Rachel's brown eyes widen comically in shock. He would have laughed if he hadn't been scared to find out what his best friend thought about it. He wanted her to be happy for him like he was for her but with Rachel he never knew how to predict what she was going to do or think.

"I thought you hated him? I mean you two are always at each other's throats." She barely paused to take a breath. "How long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell me? I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Slow down Rachel. First, I did hate him but being around him so much kind of cured that. Between the jumper lessons and being around you and Finn, it just sort of happened. And I wasn't keeping anything from you. I wasn't really sure what was going on between us until today anyway." He looked to her apologetically, hoping she would understand. "When we were stuck on the planet things just kind of fell into place and-"

Rachel cut him off again holding up her hands to stop him. "Wait, on the planet? I thought you were just on another flying lesson?"

"We we're but we went through the space gate, just to get the feel of it, but the jumper malfunctioned. We're fine but we were stuck until the rescue team came for us. Your dad and mine and Zelenka came and we fixed it and then left." He rushed to explain. "But when we got back Puck and I were left in one of the jumpers alone and he kissed me. It didn't go any farther then that before your dad yelled for my help."

She was quiet for a while and seemed to be taking everything Kurt had said in and deciding on how to process it all.

Not waiting for her to voice her thoughts Kurt steeled himself for what he was about to tell her. "And that's where I have something to tell you about you and Finn." He said, looking at Rachel and seeing she still seemed to be processing everything. "You can't let your dad find out."

That seemed to do the trick, she snapped out of her haze the instant Kurt said Finn. "Why?" her voice held an edge of hysteria. "Did he say something?"

"He saw Puck kiss me and he implied that if he found out you were kissing some marine then he would push him through the space gate and you would never leave your room." He tried to make it not sound as bad as it was but he was pretty sure he didn't succeed, if the horrified look Rachel gave him said anything.

Rachel started pacing back and forth across the length of the room, wringing her hands together, it reminded Kurt of how Rodney reacted to situations that grew too tense. Kurt watched her silently while she worked through the statement. Abruptly she stopped pacing and locked eyes with him. "What am I gonna do?"

Kurt had been wondering the same thing. He knew Rodney wouldn't rat him out to his dad, but if his dad found out about him and Puck he knew it wouldn't end well. He gave his friend the only advice he could come up with. "We just can't let our dad's find out. We should also make the guys get on our dads good side so when they do eventually find out they might at least hesitate before killing them, giving Finn and Puck a chance to run and hide."

Both teens stared blankly at one another for a few moments, then broke out into bubbly laughter, picturing the boys running from their dads. Once they pulled themselves back together Rachel tugged Kurt over to sit next to her. "That might just work." She was beginning to relax a little and looped her arm with Kurt's. "Now tell me about this kiss and DO NOT spare the details."

Kurt arched an eyebrow at Rachel and laughed at her serious expression. "Okay but only if you do the same." She nodded, smiling at him as they began to trade stories.

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

After safely depositing Rodney off in the jumper bay, in a much better mood, John made his way down to the labs to find Kurt. John was feeling relaxed and light as he took the transporter to the science labs. He was glad he had some much needed Rodney time before he had to face Burt Hummel. Burt was his friend but he knew what they were about to spring on the man was going to be tough on him.

"Did you happen to check your watch?" Rachel was asking an exhausted looking Kurt when John came around the corner and stopped at the open door to their lab.

"Rachel it's not a competition. And no, I did not check my watch; I was kind of preoccupied at the moment." He sighed in frustration at his friend.

"I know, I know, but I'm pretty sure I was first and that has to count for something." She lectured.

Folding his arms on the table in front of him, Kurt leaned his forehead down to rest on them and sighed heavily again. "Rachel, getting your first kiss before me doesn't make it better or worse. It doesn't mean anything. So please stop, you're giving me a headache."

John almost fell over when he heard Kurt's words. He had already learned from Rodney that Puck and Kurt had kissed but he had no clue that Rachel had been kissing someone too. He stood hidden in the door way for a moment longer, trying to discern who his daughter had been kissing, even if he already had a pretty good idea who it was.

"But it has to at least mean something, I'm sure of it."

Kurt groaned into his arms, in obvious distress from his friends continued insistence. "Rachel! Please. You win, you were first. Now just shut up."

Smiling triumphantly she walked up to the big white board behind her desk and started scratching out the answer to the complicated equation written on it. She seemed to be pleased by what Kurt had said and moved on to focus back on her work.

Deciding to save Kurt from Rachel's ridiculous musings, John walked fully into the room and shoved his hands into his pant pockets. "Hey you two. How's it going?"

Kurt's head snapped up at the sound of Sheppard's voice and eyed him cautiously. Kurt knew this was coming all day long and was hoping that John would somehow forget and they wouldn't have to do this.

"Hey. What are you doing down here?" Rachel asked walking over to greet John.

Rocking on his heels he looked to Kurt. "I'm here because I need to talk with Kurt."

"Why?" she was genuinely confused why her dad would need to speak with Kurt.

Jumping up from his slouch in his chair, Kurt smiled reassuringly to his best friend. "It's fine Rachel I'll tell you later." He said to her as he passed her and followed John out of the lab. Rachel watched them leave and wondered what exactly was going on.

/ / / / / / / / / /

Kurt walked nervously next to John on their way to the conference room in silence. Once inside the large room Kurt had to ask the question that had been burning inside him. Fidgeting with the hem of his jacket Kurt glanced up at John. "We're going to tell my dad, aren't we?"

John timidly moved around the long table and sat in one of the big chairs. Trying to stall the answer to that question he fussed with the height of his chair for a few moments before looking to the young scientist. When he did gain enough courage to look up to Kurt's pale blue eyes, they were filled with enough worry to penetrate down to his soul. He didn't want Kurt to be hurt by the outcome of this conversation. "Yeah. I think after today it's time we told him Kurt. He deserves to know. I know we held off on telling him because neither of us knew how he would react to it but he's getting suspicious. He's just worried for your safety."

Kurt knew he would have to tell his dad eventually of his plan to join a gate team, if Sheppard permitted it, but today was a very emotional day as it was and he didn't think he was emotionally up to this. He was sure his father wouldn't take the information well. In fact Kurt was certain his father would be against it and not even give him a chance to argue his case. His father had certain ideas about him and he was unlikely to change his mind about any of it anytime soon. Resigned to his fate, Kurt joined John at the table and sat next to him.

Kurt sat fidgeting in his seat waiting on his father to arrive. Sheppard had told him that his dad was on the mainland helping Halling with some of the new construction on their houses and he would be back soon. Kurt was beginning to feel more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. As of yet Sheppard hadn't given him a clear answer on whether or not he felt Kurt would be placed on a gate team. Kurt could tell that the Colonel was still on the fence about the whole idea and that only made him feel less sure about telling his dad. But this was something he really wanted and he wasn't going to back down without even being given a chance to prove himself.

Kurt's worried thoughts were interrupted when Burt burst through the doors. Burt had a presence about him that demanded everyone's obedience. Even to John the man always seemed to make him feel small. Burt looked around the room sensing the tension in the air. He knew this little meeting wasn't going to be something he wanted to hear but John had convinced him earlier to wait until he and Kurt could explain things to him.

Keeping his face void of any emotion Burt took the seat across from John and his son. Kurt had his head down studying the table top the moment Burt walked in the room and he couldn't seem to meet his father's stony gaze.

The two Hummel's sat in silence for a few terse minutes waiting on the other to start the conversation. John cleared his throat and let out a long breath, deciding to get things started. "Burt I know you have some questions and concerns about Kurt taking jumper lessons. That's why we're here." John didn't realize when he suggested they tell Burt that _he_ would be this nervous. John reached out to the glass of water in front of him and took a couple desperate gulps, trying to settle his nerves.

Burt crossed his arms across his chest and waited. "I'm listening."

When no answer was forthcoming John nudged Kurt lightly, urging him to speak up. Kurt took a deep breath steadying his shaking nerves. "Dad…I asked John to… put me on a gate team. Before you say anything I know it's-"

Burt was on his feet, a menacing look directed at them both. "Hell no!" He turned and pointed at John. "No way are you putting my kid in danger. I knew you were up to something with all of these lessons."

"Dad! It wasn't John's idea it was mine. Don't get mad at him. I want this." Kurt was on his feet now too, begging his dad to listen to him.

Burt was shaking his head and dismissing Kurt before he could explain any further. "No! That's final. You're my son and you are too young." Burt was angry the two of them had kept this from him. He couldn't believe they tried to go behind his back, especially John, someone he trusted and considered his friend. Burt was shaking with fury when he met John's eyes. "How could you even consider this? Kurt isn't like you or me…or even Rodney for that matter. He doesn't belong out there. Why would you even let him think he could?"

Kurt couldn't believe his dad was talking about him like he wasn't standing right in front of him. His eyes burned with unshed tears as he watched his dad refuse to even hear him out. He had known his dad would be against it but he didn't think he would act as if his feelings didn't matter.

John tried to calm his friend by placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "He's a part of the science staff Burt. He came to me and asked for a chance and I had to at least see if he could handle it. Burt, I haven't even made my decision yet." John's voice was steady and held a calming tone, but it didn't seem to help in soothing Burt's anger.

Pulling away from John, he squeezed the brim of his hat with both hands, shaking his head again Burt tried to push his anger down before he really erupted. Releasing a deep breath and balling his fists at his sides, he locked gazes with John again. "You're damn right you haven't made a decision because it's not yours to make, it's mine. Kurt may be one of your scientists but he's my son and he's only seventeen."

Kurt couldn't take it anymore. He was standing right in front of them and they were acting as if he were invisible while they continued to decide what was best for him. Shaking with the angry energy coursing through his veins, Kurt walked up to his dad and forced him to acknowledge his presence. When Burt looked down at his son, Kurt made sure he wouldn't look away by stepping right into his dads personal space. Kurt was hugging his arms around his chest nervously, preparing to stand up to his father. "In three months it won't be your decision. I'll be eighteen and John can make his decision then." Kurt looked his father directly in his eyes and refused to back down. He hadn't wanted to use that against him but his father left him no choice.

Burt was thrown for a loop by Kurt's words. He couldn't believe Kurt was acting this way. He only wanted to keep him safe and he didn't believe Kurt actually knew what risks that being on a gate team held every time they went off world. "Kurt you just see the sparkle and glamour of the missions. You don't see the dangers and death that come with a mission that's gone badly. You aren't made for it. You're better suited for the lab and you could always go once in a while once everything is deemed safe. Lots of the scientists do that. That way they can still go off world. That's what you want right?" Burt tried to reason with his son.

Kurt bristled hearing his father's remarks, did he really think that little of him. "No dad, that's not what I want. I'm not made of glass I'm not going to shatter." His voice broke on the last word. The tears that had been threatening to fall the entire time did so now. The hot tears burned his cheeks as they streamed down his face.

Burt tried to reach out to him to draw him into a hug but Kurt pulled away and turned his back to his dad. Burt sighed and looked to John, who had been standing quietly to the side watching the confrontation between the two of them. "All lessons are to stop immediately and I don't want to hear any more about this nonsense." Getting a sad nod from John as confirmation, Burt turned back to Kurt waiting for his reply. After a moment when he didn't get one he called out to him. "Kurt."

Kurt was trying to stop his tears from falling but he was hurt by his father's easy dismissal of him.

"Kurt!" Burt said his name again, demanding him to acknowledge him. Kurt turned red rimmed eyes on his father and waited for him to say what he needed to say. "No more of this. I'm serious. You understand?"

Kurt didn't but he nodded anyway. That was enough for Burt because he turned back to John and told him he was going back to work and with that he turned and left the room, leaving John and Kurt alone in the deafening silence.

John was hoping his friend would react differently but he had known how fiercely Burt Hummel loved his son and he would never stand to see his son in danger if he could prevent it. John hoped that Kurt understood where his father was coming from and not take this to badly. Looking to Kurt now John wasn't sure he did. Walking up to the upset boy and putting his hand on his shoulder trying to calm him Sheppard looked at his tear streaked face. "Kurt he's just upset. Give him a few days to cool down and he'll come around."

Brushing the tears from his cheeks and shaking his head at John he smiled sadly. "No he won't. But that's fine because like I said he won't have a say in it in three months. So expect to hear from me again. I want this and I deserve to be given a fair chance."

John was shocked by Kurt's determination and a little impressed. He smiled down at him, squeezing gently on his shoulder and nodded.

Straightening up and running his hands down his uniform, trying to smooth out the wrinkles, Kurt turned his hurt and angry presence into one of calm and clarity as he finished putting himself back together. With one last swipe of his fingers through his bangs Kurt strode out of the conference room looking as if none of what just took place in the last half hour had happened.

A little envious that he couldn't do the same, John left the conference room in search of Rodney, hoping he could instill in him some of the calm he had lost in the last half hour.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yay for another update! LOL! I hope you all are still enjoying this because there is still more to come. I just want to thank everyone who alerts and reviews they really do help to keep me motivated and make me happy. :)**

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Kurt left the conference room aching and raw from his encounter with his dad. He slowly made his trek to the nearest transporter, trying to hide the way he was feeling from anyone passing by and took it down to the labs to find Rachel. He was hoping his friend would be able to sooth his mind and possibly come up with a plan to help him out.

When he walked into the lab he found Rachel talking with one of the other scientists. They were huddled around a laptop and chatting quietly. Kurt recognized the girl as one of the new science staff that had arrived on the Daedalus, Tina Cohen-Chang. She was Miko Kusanagi's cousin and Rodney had felt uncomfortable around her, fearing she would be like her cousin and idolize him. Rodney had pushed her off on some of the other labs and as a result Kurt and Rachel had worked with her a lot since her arrival. She was close to their age and both he and Rachel liked her a lot, but he didn't feel like he could face anyone other than Rachel at the moment. Squaring his shoulders and preparing to leave and come back later Kurt turned around. Rachel had spotted the motion in the entry way and upon seeing Kurt she excitedly called out to him.

"Kurt! What was all of that? Where did you go?" She was smiling as he turned back to face her, but as soon as she saw the stricken look on his face she was at his side in an instant. She was quickly checking him over, looking for any indication he was injured but she couldn't see any visible wounds as she glanced back up to his pale face, concern shadowing her features. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Nervously peeking up to his friend he shifted his weight between his feet. "I'm fine Rachel, it's okay." He spoke softly darting his eyes over to Tina and then down to the floor in embarrassment.

Rachel understood her friend's apprehension to speak in front of the other girl. Looking to Tina Rachel put on a friendly smile. "Tina do you mind giving Kurt and I a little time alone. We can finish discussing what you found later."

Nodding, the scientist with blue streaked hair gathered up her things and hastily shuffled out the door leaving the two friends alone in the all too quiet room. Rachel eased Kurt over to a stool and sat down next to him, taking his hands in hers and turning her concerned eyes on him. "Kurt what happened? I thought you were with my dad?"

"I was…I was also with my dad." He couldn't bring himself to make eye contact, afraid of what he might see shinning in his friend's wide eyes. "We told my dad why I have been taking so many jumper lessons lately. He didn't really take the news very well."

Rachel scrunched up her brows in confusion, she had thought Kurt was just taking lessons like all the others with the ancient gene. "What do you mean Kurt? What news?"

Kurt knew he had to tell Rachel but he wasn't sure how she was going to take it when he did tell her. Squeezing her hands in his, he met her gaze. "I want on a gate team."

Rachel jerked back in shock and gaped at her friend. "What? Why would you want that? It's dangerous and would distract from our research."

Kurt searched for the right words to explain his reasons for wanting on a team. He had failed to convince his father but had hoped Rachel would just understand. "I hate never being the first person to uncover new technology. We're always the second…or third to get a chance to get our hands on the new tech that is brought back. I don't want to go to a planet after a discovery is made. I want the excitement of being the one to discover it, to be first." He managed a smile and hoped he had got his point across but Rachel looked more concerned than ever.

"Yes, yes." She said flapping her hands at Kurt. "That's all well and good…until some locals decide to feed you to their deity as a sacrifice for a plentiful harvest." The look she gave Kurt and the tone of her voice told him she was serious.

"Rachel that…" He paused, thinking on how to answer that question. "Rarely ever happens ...and besides none who have ever tried that has ever been successful in doing so."

Rachel jumped up from her seat and started pacing the room. "That is not my point Kurt. It's about all of the risks. My dad is put in danger every time he goes on a mission. He's been hurt so many times I've lost count." She was chewing on her lower lip while continuing her nervous pacing.

Kurt sighed and looked down at his black military issued boots he was still wearing from earlier, and hoped they'd give him the answers he needed. But as he stared, no answers came and he forced himself to look back up at her eyes. Her dark concerned gaze unnerved him and he shot her a glare of disappointment. "I didn't expect you to understand but…I did think you would support my decision." He spoke quietly, silently pleading with her to understand. "Why is it no one thinks I can do this?"

Rachel timidly stepped back to her seat and faced Kurt, reading how badly Kurt wanted this just from the look on his face. "It's not that I don't think you can Kurt. I just don't understand _why_ you want this so badly."

Kurt shook his head at her and brushed a shaky hand through his bangs, trying to instill some kind of confidence back into his wary mind. "Rachel you are always trying to weasel yourself on missions." It was both a statement and a question and Kurt had hoped she would understand that.

"Yes but I wouldn't want to go everyday. Only when a safe opportunity arises and never on a dangerous mission where no one knows what's waiting for them." She searched Kurt's pale eyes for understanding. "Kurt I thrive on new discoveries, I need them to live. But… I wouldn't put myself in any kind of danger willingly just to get that."

Kurt couldn't help the laugh that slipped out at his friends over the top dramatics. "Rachel I really want to at least try. Especially now more than ever since everyone thinks I can't." His anger was building again and he didn't want to feel that way any longer. "There's more to me than just good fashion sense and a brain."

"I know that!" she defended, hurt that he would even think she would believe anything else.

"Yes, but others don't. They treat me like I'm some... frail girl."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey!"

Dismissing her retort he continued to press his point. "You know what I mean. I'm a guy and no one seems to see that."

Rachel could see the pain this was causing Kurt so she pursed her lips together and tried to come up with a solution. "Well your dad is concerned you won't be able to defend yourself in a hostile situation right?" Kurt nodded to her as a light bulb switched on in her brain. "Well then, we need to reconcile that! You need to learn to defend yourself." A triumphant smile was pulling her lips upwards and her brown eyes were shining with mirth. "And I have the perfect solution!"

Kurt was happy Rachel had finally decided to help but was a little apprehensive to hear the details of her plan.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

The previous day had been draining, but today Kurt felt more optimisitic, he tried to focus on his newfound confidence as he went looking for Puck. When Kurt found him, Puck was in the ready room, putting together the last of his gear for an upcoming mission. Finn was at Puck's side checking something in his pack when Kurt walked into the room. Both boys glanced up at the sound of the door, to see who had entered. When Puck locked eyes with the petite boy, the smile that he flashed was blinding. Kurt couldn't help but return the look with a coy grin of his own.

Puck dropped his bag as Kurt glided across the room. His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of the other boy moving closer, he took note of the fact that Kurt's clothing hugged him in all the right places. Kurt always looked so put together and polished, even in the ugly science uniform, those things never looked good on anyone, but Kurt still managed to rock the look. As Puck moved closer to meet him, the memory of their kiss slammed to the front of his thoughts.

If he closed his eyes he could still feel Kurt's hot breath against his mouth and the soft lips on his. Just the thought of that tender kiss had Puck's gut twisting with excitement. The desire to pull the smaller boy into his arms was intense; Puck longed to kiss him again, this time a proper kiss that spoke of all that he was feeling. Puck quickly scanned the room checking out the few occupants scattered around getting ready for their missions. He wished he was alone with Kurt, so he could crowd him into the nearest wall, tangle his hands in that pristine hair and kiss him breathless, leaving a rumpled disoriented boy in his wake. But now wasn't the time to be thinking about a wrinkled and dazed Kurt.

Puck dug his hands into his pockets and took a calming breath, trying to keep his desire at bay, at least for the moment. "Hey Kurt. What are you doing here?" His voice came out softer than he had intended.

Kurt blushed and ducked his head shyly, he looked up at the taller boy through his long lashes. "Hi. I know you're getting ready for a mission but I was wondering if when you get back… if you're not busy… could we talk?" Kurt hadn't expected it to be as difficult as it was to ask one question, but Puck's close proximity and the memories of their warm kiss had his stomach fluttering and his palms sweating as he tried to set Rachel's plan in motion.

"Yeah of course. I was gonna find you afterwards anyway."

Kurt nodded his head, happy to hear that the other boy was wanting to see him as well. "Okay. Good. Well… be safe and I'll talk to you when you get back."

"Yeah. See you later, _princess_." Puck smirked, he couldn't resist the opportunity to see the blush that spread across his pale features. Kurts' cheeks did flame at the nickname, and he shook his head fondly as he turned and left with a small smile tugging on his lips, phase one of their plan completed.

Kurt was already on his way out when Finn finally stalked up to his friend, eyeing him critically. "What did Kurt want?"

Puck hadn't told his friend about his feelings for Kurt yet and wanted to avoid doing so for as long as he could. It was not because he was ashamed of the other boy but because it had been so unexpected and exciting, he wanted to hold on to that feeling for as long as he could, without the complications his friend would bring. He knew Finn would ask him a million questions he didn't know if he had the answers to, and he just couldn't deal with that as of yet. In response to his tall friend's question he shrugged his shoulders and went in search for his bag.

Finn looked as if he wanted to say something more but was cut short when Major Lorne called for them to make their way to the gate room. Puck shouldered his pack and was glad for the interruption as he made his way out of the room. As he walked past Finn he patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile and led the way to the gate, Finn following after him.

Once all members of the team were assembled in the gate room Lorne looked to the small group, taking special care to stare pointedly at Puck and Finn when he started. "Let's not piss anyone off this time and I think this mission will be a success." He smiled.

"Hey last time it wasn't my fault! How many times do I have to say it?" Finn sounded wounded and several of the people in the control room chuckled at his tone.

"Dude, it _was_ your fault. Your height scared the town's leader. He thought you were a giant from the hills come to steal his children. How is that _not_ your fault?" Puck goaded his friend.

Throwing his hands up in defeat, Finn turned to the room. "How _is_ that my fault? I can't help that."

That mission had been interesting to say the least and Lorne didn't think he would have believed that story had he not been there to witness the entire thing. The town leader was a very short man, standing at about four feet. He had been so frightened of Finn he had locked himself in his house and begged them not to take his kids. After nearly an hour of trying to convince the man they were friendly they ended up having to leave and send another team in their place because he was convinced that Finn was a giant trying to pass himself off as human.

Closing his eyes and sighing Lorne held up a hand negating any further dispute. "Be that as it may, every time I take you two out something happens. So that being said, the planet we are going to has a small population of farmers that built their town near an ancient research base. They didn't have any idea what it was and until we visited them, they had been using it to store extra grain in the winter. They have kindly given us permission to check it out and take whatever we want, so Doctor's David Parrish, Artie Abrams and Tina Cohen-Chang will be coming along with us. Artie and Tina will be checking out the base and Parrish will be with the townspeople checking out their crops." Eyes on the scientists now Lorne continued earnestly. "I don't think I need to say this but if anything happens the three of you need to do as we say and stick close." He received three nods in response as his answer. "Alright let's get to it then. You two, take our six." he pointed at Puck and Finn.

Lorne looked up to Chuck and gave him the signal to dial the gate. The blue reflective ripples filled the ring and Lorne stepped through with Dr. Parrish at his side, followed by Ronon and then the two other doctors went through together, leaving Puck and Finn to follow.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ok so this took longer to get up then I had hoped but I have had some writers block. I hope you all enjoy this part. Thank you to everyone who has Alerted and as always reviews are much loved and seriously make me happy! :)**

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On the other side; the planet was bright and green with large rolling hills to the left and right of the gate, which was situated in an open field. Lorne called them all to attention. "Alright folks, the farming village is about a three mile walk so let's get going."

Lorne and Parrish took the lead again, this time followed by Artie and Tina, who had their heads together chatting softly, with Puck and Finn directly behind them while Ronon took their six and followed at a distance. He was scanning the area and keeping a watchful eye on all of them.

After only ten minutes Finn broke the silence that had lapsed between them. He wanted to know what was going on between his friend and Kurt. "Dude, why are you always giving Kurt a hard time?"

Puck shrugged his shoulders as a small smile found its way on his lips. "He's just fun to tease."

Finn turned disbelieving eyes to his friend as his brain sorted out that sentence. After a moment his eyes rounded in horror. "Ew!"

"'Ew' what?" Puck asked looking at the uneven terrain as he stumbled across it.

"I mean…you're not…" Puck glanced at Finn when nothing else was forthcoming. Finn was wringing his hands together and scrunching up his face, assuming Puck would understand what he was trying to say.

Puck raised an eyebrow at him, amusement underlying the foreboding feeling that was creeping into his gut. "Punching him?" he quipped.

"No! I mean…you and Kurt aren't…" Finn was nervously tightening and loosening his grip on his P90, searching for the right words. "You aren't… _doing it_ are you?"

"What? No." Puck looked up to Lorne and Parrish who were talking animatedly with the other two scientist and then back to Ronon, who looked to be tracking the flight path of a soon to be dead flying insect, if the look of annoyance the large man was wearing was anything to go by. Puck was relieved to see that no one had taken notice of their conversation.

Glaring at Finn, he hastily whispered, "Keep your voice down."

Finn may not have been the most perceptive, but he knew his best friend well and he could tell when he was lying. And Puck was definitely lying. "Oh my God! You are!" It was louder than he intended.

Lorne turned around then and hollered back at them. "Everything okay?"

Puck was quick to answer before his friend. "Yeah, we're fine. Sorry." Puck saw a quick wave of skepticism wash over the Major's face, but it disappeared quickly and he turned back around to continue on their trek to the village.

Puck turned a menacing glare on his friend and gritted his teeth as he spoke. "Dude, _keep your voice down."_

"Sorry. But, you are aren't you? With Kurt I mean."

"I said I'm not." He whispered, irritation lacing his tone.

Finn searched his friends profile for the truth in his words but still couldn't help but feel like he wasn't being completely honest. "Okay. But you _want to be_ right?" A smile pulled at his lips as he watched Puck's eyebrows knit together in concentration.

Letting out the sigh he had been holding since the conversation started, Puck sagged in defeat.

"Ha! I knew it. Kurt is so your type." Finn was practically skipping in triumph as they continued down the now narrow path to the village. A few yards back the path had narrowed with a steep slope on their right that looked as if it merged down to a slow moving river at the bottom.

Some of the tension that was pulling all of Puck's muscles tight began to ease from the light tone his friend had taken regarding the subject. Puck knew his bisexuality made Finn uncomfortable at times but he had never judged Puck and he had always accepted him, no matter who he was with. In fact, sometimes Puck did things on purpose to embarrass Finn, just because his friend was easily flustered and it was fun.

"Oh yeah Hudson? What's my type?" Finn walked right into this one, he smirked.

Finn halted for a second in his long stride but then quickly regained his momentum and pushed forward. "Well… um… Kurt is your type right?"

"Why?" Puck was going to enjoy this for as long as he could.

"Well…he… is...a…" The pause was so long Puck was convinced Finn wasn't going to answer. When he finally did answer Puck let out an audible squeak in reply.

"Pretty." Finn rushed the word together in his haste to get it out.

Puck didn't think his dense friend had picked up on that fact, let alone be bold enough to actually say it. Aside from the chirp of shock that escaped his throat Puck couldn't bring himself to answer.

Chuckling, Finn bumped his friends shoulder playfully. "Dude you just squeaked."

Puck managed to find his voice to respond to his friend. "Whatever. You're the one blushing."

"Whatever... You squeaked like a girl." He mumbled shyly, walking in step with Puck.

They remained silent for a few minutes after that, both feeling slightly uncomfortable. Puck had intended to fluster Finn but his plan backfired and he was now silenced by his embarrassment. The silence was interrupted by Lorne's voice cutting through the quiet as he called for a ten minute break.

The three scientists sat back against the large trees that ran the length of one side on the narrow path. Lorne seemed to be leaning slightly into Parrish as he bent his head closer to the man's face to hear his whispered words. Puck then glanced back to Ronon. The man looked bored out of his mind, probably wishing he was anywhere but on this babysitting mission.

Puck had known from the start that Sheppard was trying hard to place the new staff on compatible gate teams, much of the new staff that had been on gate teams back on Earth were now split up from the rest of their team members, leaving only a few pairs, like himself and Finn, or singles. As a way of deciding where best to place the new staff, and as a precaution, Sheppard had been puting the newbies with himself or Lorne, but this mission called for three scientists and not the usual one, so the Colonel had put Ronon on as extra back up in case things went wrong fast.

Puck and Finn were in the middle of their small group, about thirty yards away from Lorne and the scientists and about thirty-five yards from Ronon, who was now slumped back against a tree, running the tip of his knife under his nails cleaning out the dirt. A team had been to this planet a couple times before so no one was particularly concerned about danger but even in their relaxed postures and easy going attitude they were still aware of each other and their surroundings.

Finn was awkwardly shifting his stance, fidgeting with the strap of his weapon when Puck spoke. "So..." He drew out the short word.

Finn peeked at his friend from the corner of his eyes, still reluctant to make full eye contact. "So?"

Puck was resigned to tell his friend everything. Finn had been telling Puck everyday, and in great detail, everything that was happening between himself and Rachel, it was only fair that he tell him about Kurt. Puck ran his hand over his short mohawk to the back of his neck and rubbed it nervously. "Look Finn I-"

Finn cut him off before he could continue, making eye contact easily now. "Puck if you're just fucking around with Kurt then you _have_ to stop before it goes any further."

Puck couldn't believe what he was hearing, he wanted to protest but Finn still wouldn't let him speak. "I'm serious Puck. I know you and you don't date guys you… well you just…_you know_. I've only ever seen you serious about one person and that was a girl."

Puck felt like his breath had been knocked out of him. Finn was his best friend and he felt like he had sucker punched him right in the face with his words. Swallowing the anger that was rising, he turned hurt eyes to Finn. "Where is this coming from?"

"I'm not trying to be mean Puck. But Kurt is really nice and I don't want him hurt."

Puck was brimming with inexplicable bitterness. "Is this because of Rachel?… Where was your concern ten minutes ago?"

"It's not Rachel and I was concerned earlier and I wasn't entirely sure if anything was going on between you two or not. It's just… you have to see where I'm coming from here."

Finn looked stricken and Puck felt something inside him release and all of that anger he was barely holding back started to ebb. He knew Finn was right. He hadn't ever had a serious relationship with a guy, he'd had _relations _with guys before but never anything meaningful. Kurt was different. With him, Puck didn't just want some one night stand or a quick and dirty fuck in the back room of some bar or club. With Kurt Puck wanted more, someone to be with, someone he could love. Puck went ridged and felt his heart clench in realization. _Someone he could love? Yeah, _he smiled,_ love._

"You're right. But this is different. I know that Kurt isn't just some cheap lay. I…I…" Puck was holding back tears that threatened to sting his eyes, they'd come out of nowhere. He knew he had feelings for Kurt but Finn had just made him realize just how _deep_ those feelings were becoming.

Finn could see his friend was serious and instantly felt guilty for being so harsh. "I'm sorry Puck I didn't realize. I just-"

Shaking his head Puck cut him off before he could continue. "No. you were right. It's cool." he managed to choke out.

They easily slipped into a companionable silence and Puck let his new found revelation wash over him, loving how right it all felt. Puck was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of rustling leaves. Both he and Finn had turned to the sound and held their weapons tightly, ready for anything that appeared. A moment later a small animal hopped out of the dense cluttering of trees.

"Awww. It looks like a bunny rabbit." Finn said bending down to get a better look at it. "Hey little guy."

Puck nudged Finn with his boot. "Be careful dork. You don't know what it is." Puck cautioned his friend, who was creeping closer to the rabbit-like creature. It was slightly different from a rabbit; it was roughly the same size and shape but this animal had long claws and an even longer wide tail about the same length as its body, almost like a platypus.

Finn was reaching his hand out to the small fluffy animal and looked back to glare at his friend. "You are overreacting! It's a harmless little bunn-"

Puck saw what his friend didn't. He simultaneously yelled Finn's name and pushed Finn to the side as the animal attacked. Puck was aware of Finn yelping and then stumbling out of sight down the small embankment, most likely into the river below. But the pain was worse. When Puck had reached out to knock Finn's hand away_, his_ hand had then been in efficient attack range. The animals' tail had swung around to nail his hand. The pain that was shooting up his arm was intense. He had been shot before and this was worse. He was soon rolling on his side clutching his arm to his chest trying to hold back the screams of agony that threatened to leap out of his mouth. "Fuck!... Shit! …Ow!" he panted.

Ronon was at his side first, having caught sight of the small animal before he could warn them not to touch it. Puck heard Lorne yelling for the scientists to stay put as he ran over to see what happened. Ronon was holding Puck still on his place on the ground, stopping his thrashing.

Lorne came to a stop next Puck and Ronon then looked down to the river. "Hudson you okay?"

"Yeah! But I think I twisted my ankle, I can't stand on it. Is Puck okay?"

Lorne looked to Ronon. "Is he okay?"

Ronon spoke lazily and without much inflection as he stared down to Puck's face, twisted in pain. "Yeah he'll be fine. He just got hit by the barbs of a Scythe, it's a little critter but it's sting is painful... very painful, but not deadly. We will have to get the barbs out though, Jennifer should do it. I suggest we head back to the gate."

Puck was using everything in him not to behave like a weak crying girl but his hand was throbbing and shooting bolts of sharp pain up to his shoulder. He was a whimpering, fidgety mess by the time Lorne and Parrish had managed to drag Finn out of the river and up the steep slope of the hill. Finn smiled weakly at Puck trying to convey how sorry he was.

"Don't give me the puppy dog eyes Finn, this shit hurts like hell!" Ronon moved to help Puck stand but the movement jostled his injured hand and caused him to yell out in pain. "Fuck!" He growled. "Damn you and your fascination will all things cute and fluffy." He grunted the last part in Finn's direction.

Puck heard one of the scientist chuckle but he was in too much pain to try and figure out who it had come from.

"Alright let's get moving." Lorne said. He and Parrish were supporting Finn on either side helping him hobble along the path and Ronon was practically dragging Puck along by gripping the back of his uninjured upper arm.

It seemed to take hours to get back to the gate but in reality it only took about an extra five minutes to get there then it would have if they all had been uninjured.

Puck watched the Asian scientist dial the gate and send the IDC, a moment later Dr. Weir's concerned voice drifted from their radios. "Major is everything alright? Your team wasn't scheduled to check in for another three hours."

"We're okay but we do have a couple injuries. We will need two wheelchairs waiting. I'll tell you more when we're back on Atlantis. Are we cleared to come through?"

"Okay Major your team is clear to come through. Weir out."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay so this took WAY longer than I expected but here it is. Real life can get in the way sometimes LOL. Hope you all enjoy this and are still interested in this story. I hope to post on a more regular basis now. Sorry for the wait. Thanks again for all the alerts and reviews. I will finish this I promise!**

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A piercing scream ripped through the science lab. Kurt, Rachel, and the rest of the team jumped, some nearly dropping the ancient tech they were cataloging. All eyes turned toward the sound. Rodney was there, clutching his hand to his chest. His eyes were closed tightly against the obvious pain he was in as he paced back and forth in front of his lab table.

Rachel was at her father's side before anyone could move. Worry pouring off her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

McKay was too busy whimpering and holding back tears to hear any of the concerned questions Rachel was asking him. Zelenka and Kurt were at Rachel's side now staring at a blubbering McKay with interest. Rachel's small hand on his shoulder pulled him back to reality, finally recognizing the worried look in his daughter's eyes. A cursory look around the room told McKay he was the center of everyone's attentions.

Sheepishly he held up his pointer finger and stared out into all the faces of his coworkers. "Paper cut." He said mildly and pulled his hand back to his chest, staring menacingly at his small wound, like he could will it to stop hurting.

Zelenka threw his arms up in defeat and stomped back to his desk muttering obscenities under his breath all the way back to his seat. As Rachel was rubbing her dad's back trying to sooth him, Kurt took note of all the looks the bellowing scientist was receiving. Kurt inched closer to the two and tapped Rachel on her shoulder.

"Rachel?" he questioned softly, darting his eyes cautiously at the now murderous looks they were receiving, probably due to the over the top antics Rodney was displaying.

Rachel didn't stop the soothing circles she was rubbing into McKay's shoulder when she looked up to Kurt. "Yes?"

"Maybe we should take your dad to the infirmary to get a band aid or something." His timid voice had her scrunching up her face in confusion.

"What? Why would we-" Kurt cut her off by hastily gesturing to the room. Seeing all the angry faces trained on her dad Rachel understood the need to get him to safety before the other scientist decided to revolt or possibly kill him. One of the newer scientists was eyeing a pen suspiciously, looking ready to use it to stab Rodney if the opportunity arose, probably not used to the McKay enthusiasm yet. Turning back to Kurt she shook her head. "Yeah maybe you're right. Dad?" she called quietly. "Maybe we should go see Dr. Keller."

"Yeah maybe you're right. This could get infected and I don't want that." He was still clutching his hand to his chest tenderly.

Kurt was about to go back to his desk and jump back into his work but Rachel stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I don't think so. You are coming with us. If I don't get to work then neither do you." The tone left no room for argument and Kurt dutifully followed his friend out the door.

Before they even made it fully into the infirmary Jennifer's kind voice met their ears. "What brings my best patient in today?" Her smile clearly one of amusement. She guided the three of them over to a bed and Rodney hopped up with practiced ease and shakily held out his hand to her, a small frown pulling his lips down on one side.

Rachel and Kurt took up residence to the right of Rodney and looked on in delight as Dr. Jennifer Keller gently took Rodney's hand into hers and examined it closely. After a moment Jennifer looked up to her patients eyes and quirked an eyebrow.

"Rodney, what am I supposed to be looking at? Is it another splinter because I don't see it."

Both teens ducked their heads together and tried to hold back their giggles as Rodney's face turned to one of shock and disbelief. "First that was a _huge_ splinter. And second this is a paper cut!" He shoved his hand back in her face as his voice rose an octave higher than normal on the last part. "What? Don't they teach you that in voodoo school or are paper cuts unheard of where you come from?"

The amused smile was back on her face as she sighed heavily and rolled her eyes skyward. "Rodney all I can do for a paper cut is give you a band aid and send you on your way. Besides it's so small I didn't even see it."

"This was no ordinary paper Jennifer. This was an old piece from a book that was brought back from PTX-458!" His face grew more serious the more he thought about all the possible worst case scenarios he could have been exposed to. "Oh no!" Sudden fear lighting his features. "What if it had something on it and now I have been infected with a terrible disease? What if-"

"Rodney!" Jennifer commanded, instantly causing him to sit up and listen carefully. "Calm down. I can always give you a shot… if that is what you want. Then you will have nothing to worry about."

Both teens leaned into each other again and giggled when they saw the panicked face Rodney made at the word shot. He then turned a threatening glare at the two. Jennifer walked over to a cabinet smiling as she rummaged around in a drawer. Before she could find what she was looking for the siren sounded alerting the base to an unscheduled gate activation.

Hearing the warning Kurt stood straighter and turned serious immediately and grabbed Rachel's arm. She looked to him and waited, unnerved by the look of worry he wore. Trying not to attract attention, he pulled Rachel to the side and whispered to her. "Puck and Finn are on a mission right now."

She stiffened visibly and Kurt felt his stomach knot. Everyone on Atlantis was used to hearing the alert of an unscheduled gate activation on a regular basis. But anytime their dad's or someone they were close to was on a mission and the claxon sounded, fear and panic ripped through them. Normally something would have had to gone awry for a mission to be cut short. This time instead of being worried about their dads it was Puck and Finn.

"We don't know what it's about yet. We should just stay calm." She tried to reason, but the curling panic that was rolling in her stomach didn't help her sound convincing.

A moment later Jennifer was speaking to Dr. Weir through her radio. The conversation was short and as soon as she signed off Jennifer was giving her staff orders to bring two wheelchairs to the gate room. Kurt couldn't help but ask out of fear. "Is everything okay? Do you know who was hurt?" His voice nearly broke but he managed to keep his fear out of his voice.

She was looking down at something in her hands but answered him anyway. "I'm not sure. Dr. Weir just said that Major Lorne's team suffered some minor injuries and requested two wheelchairs." As she finished she looked to Kurt. "Probably nothing serious or I would have been sent to wait as they came through." Her kind eyes fixing Kurt with a curious gaze.

Kurt shook his hair the side and ran his slender fingers through his bangs, trying to feign indifference, even though he was terrified underneath. "Oh, okay. Just curious."

Rachel knew he was trying to appear as though he wasn't concerned for Puck but she knew exactly how he was feeling because she was just as concerned about Finn. They both knew the two boys have been going on missions with the major and hearing his name come from Jennifer only caused them more anxiety.

Jennifer was attending to Rodney's cut while waiting for her staff to bring in the real patients. Kurt and Rachel stood stiff at the side holding each other's hands tightly praying that Puck and Finn were safe.

The door to the infirmary whooshed open and both teens stomachs dropped. Finn was being pushed into the room but he was smiling which calmed Rachel's nerves some. Following right behind Finn was Puck, but his face was pinched in pain. Kurt wanted to rush over to him and make sure he was okay, only the tight grip Rachel had on his hand stopped him.

Finn was pushed off to the side to the bed near the wall as Jennifer helped Puck out of his chair and sat him on the bed directly in front of Rodney's bed. Jennifer was already in full on doctor mode, checking out her patient and calling out orders.

With Puck's hand gently laid in her hands she looked up to his eyes. "What happened?"

"Some animal got me with its tail. It had some kind of spikes on it." He winced as she turned his injured hand over, inspecting it thoroughly. "Ronon said to let you take them out. No offence Doc but this shit hurts like hell. Mind slipping me some of the good drugs?"

Most of Puck's usual charms were lost because of the pain he was most obviously in, but Jennifer smiled nonetheless and turned to one of her staff. "Quinn would you get Lt. Puckerman something for the pain? And would you numb the area of the injury so I can remove the barbs?"

"Sure thing Doctor." A pretty petite young blond came bouncing up to Puck with a needle in one hand. She smiled coyly at him, batting her long lashes, trying to accentuate her blue eyes.

Puck again winced, this time from the small prick of the needle.

"I thought marines were supposed to be tough?" The blond doctor's voice was soft and sensual as she administered the injection.

As the pain medication spread through his hand, Puck offered the nurse a lazy smile. "Thanks a lot Blondie. I needed that." He mumbled, his face relaxing from the permanent grimace he'd been holding since his accident. He looked at the girl's face for a moment, taking in the golden hair that framed a face that belonged on a magazine cover more than a medical uniform. She was quite pretty, Puck observed. But she wasn't his type, he didn't go for Barbie doll blonds who made themselves so available. No, Puck was much more into sassy brunettes' who played hard to get.

But as he prepared to let the nurse down easy, he caught sight of a familiar pair of aqua eyes watching him from the other side of the room, and they looked furious. The smile quickly died on Puck's lips as he watched a scowl contort Kurt's delicate features. Puck's brow furrowed in confusion, what was Kurt so upset about? He wanted to know just what had caused the other boy such grief. Puck chanced a smile at Kurt, but it was met with a sharp glare as Kurt folded his arms across his chest and turned his head away from him.

Kurt's action cause some of Puck's tension to return, this time with an uneasy feeling that spread through his entire body. Despite the fact that Kurt's expression was hard and cold, it burned through Puck like a brush fire and it took everything in him not to jump off the cot and walk over to him. Even as the doctor returned and started removing the painful barbs, Puck didn't wince. Kurt's icy reaction hurt so much more than those stupid spines in his hand.

Dr. Keller was just finishing up with removing the last barb from Puck's hand when Colonel Sheppard came into the room with Major Lorne at his side and Ronon looming behind them. John made a cursory look around the room, his eyes falling on Rodney, who was still seated on one of the infirmary beds with his hand clutched to his chest. John had come to the infirmary to check on Puck and Finn but he quickly changed direction and made his way over to his lover, surprised to see him in the infirmary.

"Rodney, what happened? Are you okay?" Concern laced in his words as he looked Rodney over from head to toe and then let his hands rest against Rodney's thighs. Rodney's head popped up and he locked his blazing blue gaze with John's and pouted his lips. When no answer was forth coming John looked to Rachel and Kurt, but before they could answer Rodney held his hand out to John.

Holding his finger in John's face, Rodney frowned. "I got a paper cut." He said pitifully, trying to gain any sympathy John was willing to spare him.

The worry that was painting John's features instantly changed to amusement. John gently took Rodney's hand in his and inspected the bandaged finger then brought it up to his lips and kissed it gently. The smile that pulled at his lips and crinkled his eyes was filled with love and tenderness. "There." He said. "I kissed it and made it better."

Rodney blushed furiously and couldn't make eye contact with John as he nodded his head. "Yeah. Much better." The whispered words were only audible to the two of them and Rachel and Kurt who were still standing at Rodney's bed side.

Kurt relaxed some of the tension that had pulled all his muscles tight as he watched the two men share a moment filled with love and compassion. But his anger flared again when he glanced back to Puck and saw the blond doctor smiling at him, her hand was resting on his shoulder as she leaned in to say something to him. She was obviously flirting and Kurt's heart was sinking faster the longer he stood watching the scene unfold in front of him. He had thought Puck had real feelings for him but now he wasn't so sure.

After John realized Rodney was okay he turned his attentions over to the two marines sitting in the room. He first glanced at Finn, who was smiling chatting with the nurse that was wrapping his ankle, then looked to Puck and sighed.

"So did you two always get into this much trouble back at the SGC or is this new? Because if so then I think I know why General O'Neil was so eager to hand the two of you off." John had his arms crossed over his chest as he directed his question at the two young marines. His tone was light and playful and his small smile told them he was more amused then angry at them.

Finn immeadiatly went on the defensive. "This wasn't my fault this time!" The look Puck shot his friend was firey enough to burn a hole right through him, causeing Finn to rethink his responce. "Well...I mean...it was an accident."

John chuckled at the comical display the two were causeing. They were quitely bickering back and forth over whose fault it had been.

John cleared his throat and cocked his head to the side smiling at them. "Well so far every mission I have sent you two on either one or both of you come back hurt or have managed to piss off the locals in some form or another." John paused to guage their reactions to his statement. Both boys quieted down and looked anxiously between one another trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't get them in trouble.

As John continued to taunt the two marines, Kurt couldn't keep his mind off of Puck and the little blond doctor who'd been fawning over him. He watched as she finally left Puck's side and went over to help the nurse wrap up Finn's leg. The two women then busied themselves with putting supplies away, their work led them close to where Kurt was still standing with Rachel. He _wasn't trying_ to listen to their conversation but he couldn't help overhear some of what they were whispering about.

"...And dangerous marines are my _biggest_ turn on." Both the girls giggled and Kurt nearly fell over when heard them, his grip on Rachel's hand growing stronger. She winced at the sudden pressure Kurt was applying to her hand and would have yelled at him but as she looked to him he tilted his head in the direction of the two chatting girls. She followed his gaze and strained to hear their conversation.

"You mean the one with the dopey grin?" Rachel's ears picked up on that and she threw a death glare at the nurse, who was too busy smiling and laughing with Quinn to even notice Rachel.

"No." Quinn giggled. "I like my marines hotter, with muscles and a mohawk..."

Any further discussion was stopped when Kurt abruptly jerked backward and stepped on Rachel's foot, causing her to yelp in pain. Every head in the room turned to look at them. Kurt sucked in a deep breath and lifted his head, just before he stormed out of the room.

"Kurt!" Rachel called after him but he didn't stop or even look back. He knew that if he did, then he wouldn't be able to hold back the tears that were beginning to burn his eyes.

As the doors swished shut behind Kurt, Rachel looked at the remaining occupants in the room and tried to come up with an excuse as to why her friend had left, looking as if someone had just kicked his puppy. "He just remembered an experiment that was running in the lab and he needed to go check on it." She was never good at lying under pressure, Kurt was always the one to rattle off imaginary scenarios when they were in trouble. Both John and Rodney gave her disbelieving looks and turned to stare at one another, doing all their talking with just their eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So sorry for the long long long wait but here is the next chapter. I do have more written and I am planning to write more. I hope some people are still interested in this and enjoy!

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Kurt left the infirmary feeling as though his heart had just been ripped out. And just to make sure it would never beat ever again, someone had stomped it until there was nothing left but small pieces, just enough left to hurt. He hastily walked the familiar corridors, down to one of the piers that he liked to go to whenever he needed some peace to think and clear his mind. It was out of the way and no one ever came there, except Rachel on rare occasions. She had told him once before that it was too cold and lonely to go there often, but Kurt didn't mind that, he just enjoyed the view and having a place he could breathe without the fear of scrutiny. Before meeting Rachel he was used to being alone and so being out on the pier by himself helped him to rebuild some of his defensive walls he let crumble whenever he became too comfortable with his surroundings, even back at the SGC Kurt had always managed to find one or two good hiding spots.

He was choking back his sobs by the time he stepped into the cool ocean breeze. Out in the sunshine and salty air he took several deep breaths, returning his breathing back to its normal rhythm. He wiped at his eyes and berated himself for being so weak. How could he have let himself fall for Puck's charms and believe that someone like Puck would be interested in someone like _him._ He was a nobody. He had heard it all his life before coming to Atlantis. His father had tried to protect him from the cruel words and harsh treatment of the kids from his school and their parents but Kurt knew what they all were thinking as they whispered hateful remarks behind his back. That's when he decided to protect himself from pain by never letting anyone in, somehow Rachel slipped past his walls and he had been happy that she had. But he knew better than to let someone like Puck in and now he was paying for it.

"Stupid." He began to nervously pace back and forth, shaking his head as he continued to question his choices. "How could you have left your heart open? You should have known better! It always ends up hurting!"

He felt wrecked. First his dad wouldn't accept his decision to be on a gate team and now seeing Puck and that nurse had crushed what was left of his heart. Feeling sorry for himself, he walked over to the wall near the door and he slid down to slump on the ground, for once not concerned about ruining his clothes. He pulled his hands inside his sleeves and wrapped his arms around his bent legs. Laying his forehead against his knees, he hugged them tight against his chest, trying to make himself as small as he felt. With the cold wind whipping around him he felt a bone deep chill course through his body, causing him to shiver. Now alone with his thoughts Kurt held back the second wave of tears that threatened to fall as he drifted off into his mind.

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Back in the infirmary almost everyone had cleared out leaving only Finn, Rachel, Puck and Dr. Keller behind. It took Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay a while to leave because both had pulled Rachel off to one side and began to quietly question her about Kurt's abrupt storm out. From what Puck could discern they were both concerned about him and wanted Rachel to tell them what was really wrong with Kurt but she refused to give away anything. They left unhappy and with no answers, calling out a couple quick good byes over their shoulders to Puck and Finn as they shuffled out the door.

As soon as they were gone Rachel was at Finn's side. He reached out for her hand and she smiled shyly as she took Finn's large hand in hers and lightly squeezed it in reassurance.

"Are you really okay?" She asked, looking to Finn's bandaged foot and then back up to meet his eyes.

Finn nodded in response and pointed with his chin over to Puck. "He got the worst of it."

The smile on Rachel's lips fell away and turned into a sneer as she looked to Puck. That was the second angry look he had received in the last thirty minutes and he hadn't even done anything wrong, at least not that he thought. He'd had enough. "What the Hell Rachel?" His tone was sharper than he intended but he was upset and confused and just wanted some answers.

Finn quickly jumped to Rachel's defense when Puck's harsh words caused her to jump. "Hey! Watch how you talk to my girlfriend."

Rachel's frown morphed into a blinding smile at the word _girlfriend._ She turned back to Finn. "_Girlfriend_?" She asked timidly.

Finn blushed and nodded his head. "Well... yeah."

The lovey dovey scene that was playing out before Puck was beginning to give him a headache and he still had no idea what he did wrong. "Sorry to interrupt your moment but... what's wrong with Kurt? He seemed really upset."

Rachel was torn on whether or not she should tell Puck that they had seen him flirting with the blond doctor or just let him stew. Puck seemed to sense that she was weighing her options and he tried to sway her to his side.

"Please Rachel? Tell me. Did I do something wrong because before we left on the mission I talked with him and he seemed fine. Happy even. What changed?"

She looked stricken and turned to Finn for help, but he only smiled and nodded his head, trying to reassure her it would be okay. When she looked back to Puck she could see the worry and what looked like pain in his dark eyes. Steeling herself for a fight she locked gazes with Puck, her face giving away only how serious she was about her friend. "Let me ask one question first." At Puck's nod she continued. "Do you really care about Kurt or is this just some game to you?"

Puck was floored once again, only an hour ago had his best friend been asking him the same thing. He couldn't help but feel mildly insulted but at the same time angry at himself for giving off such a persona. If Rachel as well as his own best friend had thought that about him, then what did Kurt think of him? He needed to make things right and fast. "Of course I care about him! I..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. He wasn't about to confess everything he was feeling to the two of them when he hadn't even been able to tell Kurt yet. Instead he turned pleading eyes on Rachel, silently begging for her to understand.

Finn finally spoke up, watching as Puck struggled for the right words. He knew that his friend was not about to start bawling out a confession of love right there in the middle of the infirmary. But he could tell from the tense way Puck stood and the look in his eyes that his friend was sincere, it's how he knew back on the planet as well.

"Rachel, he means it." Finn said softly, bracing himself for her stern stare. She whirled on him, her pretty hair flying in a circle as their eyes locked. He offered her a timid smile, trying not to lose his focus by basking in how pretty she was when she was angry.

She didn't want to betray Kurt's trust by giving away where she was sure he had run off to, but Puck's beseeching eyes and Finn's earnestness had her wavering on what to do. The battle waged on inside her head, one side wanting to believe Puck, and the other not wanting to betray her friend. She frowned, knowing that the guys could plainly see the indecision on her face.

"Please?" Puck begged. The sound pulling at every one of Rachel's heart strings. With that one word she was certain she would tell the other boy everything he wanted to know. She was saved from making that decision when Dr. Keller walked up to them, not sensing the tension that hung in the air.

"Alright, let me get a better look at your injury and then I think you can be cleared to leave." She said as she took Puck's hand and started examining it.

Rachel, finally reaching a decision, shot Finn a quick smile and slipped out of the room unnoticed by Puck.

/ / / / / /

After ducking out of the infirmary, Rachel made her way down to the pier where she knew Kurt would have gone to hide. She found him there, slumped on the ground against the wall in a very un-Kurt like heap.

He didn't even look up to see who had joined him, Kurt knew that Rachel was the only one who knew of his secret refuge and he recognized her quick footsteps. He heard her pace over to him and then felt as she slid down the wall and draped her arm over his shoulders, offering silent comfort. Kurt could feel her warmth seep into his side as she gently rocked back and forth, he took solace in her low humming. Kurt hadn't realized how much his fretting had taken out of him, but as he laid his head on her shoulder he suddenly felt very tired. It wasn't more than a moment before he drifted into a fretful sleep.

Rachel felt Kurt sag against her and sighed. She just sat there, staring out at the waves that surrounded Atlantis. She thought about what had happened in the infirmary, about how she had never seen Kurt quite so worked up over someone. She'd seen him through his various crushes before, but those had mostly been on unavailable targets. There was something about his connection with Puck that was different, much more real. Rachel had noticed it before, but she'd really been able to feel it today.

After a half hour or so the cold began to get to Rachel. She was also concerned about Kurt, who had been out in it a lot longer than she had.

"Kurt." She gently shook him, rousing him. He stirred but made no real effort to wake fully. Shaking him again she called his name a little louder. "Kurt! Come on, it's getting too cold out here and you need to stop sulking."

Kurt moved his head slowly from her shoulder, leaning his forehead on his knees, causing his words to be muffled as he answered her. "Not sulking."

"Riiight... and what do you call it then?"

He was silent a moment before he spoke again. "Not sulking?" He quipped.

Rachel snorted at his reply. "Okay Mr. Denial lets get inside. I don't know about you but I'm freezing!" She was standing in front of him now, looking down at his compacted form as she rubbed her hands together trying to bring back some of the warmth she had lost. Kurt mumbled another reply, this one Rachel didn't quite catch. "What?" She asked.

"I don't mind the cold. If I go numb then I won't have to _feel_ anymore." Kurt's whispered words caused a sharp pain to stab at her chest. She was never at a loss for words but found herself unable to respond as her voice was caught like a lump in her throat. Kurt's placid reply froze her to her spot. It was more serious than she had thought. She knew he didn't let people in easily and the fact that he was this shattered by Puck's actions told her he had fallen hard for the marine.

It took a few minutes but she was finally able to swallow the lump in her throat and find her voice again. "Kurt I know you don't think so, but Puck does have feelings for you." Kurt scoffed at her and finally raised his head but he didn't make eye contact. Instead he searched the horizon for answers. "Honestly Kurt. You didn't see how upset he was when you left or how hurt he was when I wouldn't tell him where you were." She tried to get him to believe her but he remained silent and too lost in his own thoughts to hear anything she had to say about Puck at the moment.

She leaned back against the wall and let him sulk for a little while longer, both just silently watching the clouds slowly drift across the clear blue sky but when a shiver wracked her body again she decided enough was enough. Clasping her hands together she looked to her friend. "Alright Kurt this is ridiculous. Get up!" He looked up at her with an expression that clearly asked if she had lost her mind. She was way too enthusiastic compared to the way that he was feeling.

"Rachel." He whined, sounding exhausted, but the look she gave him told him she wasn't going to let him get away with sitting there any longer.

Shaking her head to stop any further dispute, Kurt watched as her dark hair fluttered in the wind, making it lay in a mess of tangles against her face. She brushed the long locks out of her eyes, looking frustrated and a little tired herself.

The whole scene reminded him of when the two of them had been forced to meet for a second time, at their fathers' insistence. She had been standing with John and Rodney waiting for Kurt and his father to arrive. It had been a cold windy Colorado day and she was bundled up in a long wool coat that was the most hideous shade of yellow he had ever seen, but what had caught his attention (even more than her attempt to look like Big Birds' cousin) was the way her long hair had danced in the wind. He'd watched as she fought with the wild strands to make it lay flat.

Kurt had been hit with a sense of longing and pain. He had very few memories of his mother but one had come barreling to the front of his mind. His mother scooping him up into her warm embrace as they ran giggling from the car to the house to get out of the snow that was beginning to fall, leaving his dad to bring in the groceries. He could feel his mother's long hair sweep across his face as the wind rushed past them. In her arms Kurt had felt safe and warm, despite the chill in the air.

That memory had been what changed his mind about Rachel. He'd been reluctant, but the thoughts of his mother persuaded him to actually give the badly dressed girl a chance. And he had been happy he did.

Now, sitting on the pier, looking at her concerned expression and messy hair only made him want to smile and hug her for being there for him always. That's also when he realized that she had been speaking to him the entire time he was distracted by his memories.

"Wait, what did you say?" He asked, feeling almost okay enough to stand up again.

Rachel rolled her eyes at her friend but the curt reply died on her lips as she watched Kurt's posture lose some of the tension that had been holding his muscles taut. She could see the beginnings of a smile cure his lips as well. "I was asking if you were able to set our plan in motion yet?"

Kurt cast his eyes down and shifted his stance from foot to foot, unable to meet Rachel's shining eyes. "Not really. I was going to ask him once he got back from the mission."

Rachel nodded her head and pursed her lips together in thought. It only took her a few seconds before she was eagerly hopping in place, a huge smile spilling on her lips. "Well don't worry about that. I of course have another idea." She didn't even wait for him to respond. Instead, grabbing his arm and dragging him back inside, finally out of the cold.

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	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry again for the long time without an update. I really don't like this chapter and it is one of the reasons I haven't updated in a while but this chapter is needed to move things along. I no longer have a beta and so I hope that it isn't too terrible. Enjoy!**

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The next day Kurt found himself down in the labs standing in front of a young blond scientist with her hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her eyes were locked on Rachel's in an intense wide eyed stare. Kurt was familiar with the girl, recognizing her as one of the many scientists who had pissed off Rodney in some way and now found themselves exiled to work on the boring assignments none of the other scientists wanted. He leisurely leaned against the front of her desk and took notice of her pretty features and eyes that were wide and blank, causing him to question how she could be a scientist on Atlantis. Shaking the thought from his mind, he shifted his gaze over to his friend, having blocked out the entire time she was talking.

"So do you think you could help us?" Rachel was finishing as she tugged on the hem of her jacket.

The blond tilted her head and searched Rachel's face, for what Kurt didn't know. "You talk a lot."

Kurt couldn't hold in the undignified snort that left his throat, one he would deny until the day he died. Rachel turned a harsh glare on him and he straightened his stance and smiled apologetically at his friend. Turning her attention back on the other girl Rachel tried to appeal to her.

"Brittany, wouldn't you like to get back into my dad's good graces?" She asked.

"I don't even know your dad. Why would I want that?"

Kurt and Rachel turned unbelieving eyes on each other, clearly thinking the girl couldn't be serious. Rachel managed to recover first and spoke slowly and calmly as if speaking to a skittish child. "Brittany my dad is Dr. Rodney McKay, head of the science division on Atlantis."

After a moment of what looked like hard thought, the blond scientist seemed to understand. "Oh. Wait, I thought he was capital G gay?"

Laughter filled the room as Kurt lost all his self-control, momentarily forgetting to be sad.

Rachel prided herself on being able to overcome any obstacle but was finding this girl to be almost more than she could handle . . . _almost_, she _was_ Rachel McKay after all. She decided to keep things simple and to the point. "You are friends with the girl marine with the long dark hair correct?" At the other girl's small nod Rachel pushed forward, finally making some head way with the conversation. "Great! We need her help. Since neither Kurt nor I have anyone at the moment that can help us with our current problem, I figured a marine who is friends with a scientist would be the best candidate for the job. In exchange we will help get you back in the main labs working on the exciting projects again. None of this boring busy work that the real scientists wouldn't even take a second look at. You'd like that right?" By the time Rachel finished she was smiling her award winning smile, the one Kurt knew she practiced in the mirror, perfecting it for when she was awarded a Nobel.

Brittany was smiling at her too.

The sinking feeling growing in Kurt's gut had him wishing he had actually been listening when Rachel had hashed out her new plan to him.

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An hour later Kurt found himself in the small workout room that was used mostly by the new wave of marines. He was looking up at a tall Latina marine, who wore her hair back in the same high ponytail as Brittany. She seemed to be around the same age as Puck and Finn and had come in with the same wave of people. She looked hardened and fierce, something Kurt would usually respect, but for some reason in this girl it frightened him. Her scowling dark eyes pinned him to his spot on the gym floor. Unable to stop the shiver of fear that ran down his spine, Kurt reflexively swallowed around the lump that caught in his throat. Rachel seemed to be oblivious to the scary Marines' disdain toward them.

The marine stepped forward and Kurt just barely held in the shocked squeak that bubbled up. Her sharp eyes looked from him to Rachel, looking as if she was trying to figure them out. After a moment she sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips menacingly.

"So you two need my help?" She grunted.

"Yes. Well, Kurt does." Rachel gestured toward Kurt, a smile easily heard in her voice.

The girl looked Kurt over, _sizing up her prey_, he thought. He really should listen to Rachel before tuning her out. _What had she been thinking when she thought enlist the help of this terrifying woman._

She raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrow at Rachel, in way of telling her to continue. Which she did, enthusiastically waving her hands for emphasis. "Kurt needs to learn to defend himself from an attacker." She waited for the other girl's reaction.

The hoot of laughter that the marine let out startled Rachel, causing her to jerk back a couple of inches.

"What's the matter _sweetie_, someone picking on you?" she laughed.

Rachel's eyebrows knitted together in anger but it was Kurt who stepped into the marines face first and shot her a furious glare. She reigned in her laughter, bringing herself to her full height, her eyes narrowed, as she waited for Kurt's refute to her words.

Meeting her gaze straight on Kurt hardened his face into one of malcontent. "I want on a gate team." He said forcefully. "And that will not happen unless I can be trusted to take care of myself. If you don't want to help me that's fine, but there is no reason for you to treat me like some dumb little girl. I'll do it on my own if I have to." He held her gaze for a moment longer, forcing her to see just how serious he was before he turned to leave. He was happy that his voice remained steady despite the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He latched on to Rachel's arm as he stomped over to the door, pulling her along with him. Just as they reached the door they were stopped by the quite 'wait' that was called out weakly to them. Slowly they turned toward the voice.

She looked pained, as if what she was about to do actually hurt. "Wait." She said again, sighing as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm only doing this because Brittany asked me to." Rachel was all smiles again but Kurt still held a little animosity toward the marine. As they moved back over to her, a little cautious this time, a smug grin twitched on to the marines' lips. "And you obviously have more balls then I thought _Nancy_, considering you just stood your ground with me."

The toothy grin the female marine shot Kurt had no effect on Rachel's good mood which had been boosted since the marine's reluctant acceptance to help. "Great!" Rachel interjected before Kurt had the chance to retort the nickname. "You have just under three months to make sure he is ready."

"Why three months?"

"That's when I turn eighteen and will be considered for a gate team." He stated calmly. She seemed to consider this for a moment and then nodded at them.

"Wonderful! Thank you Lt. ..." Rachel read the name on the marines' jacket. "Lopez." She smiled.

Lt. Santana Lopez smirked at her and shrugged. She seemed defeated but the small smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes put Kurt slightly at ease for the moment.

/ / / / / / / / / / /

Kurt and Rachel spent the rest of the day goofing off in Rachel's room, watching sappy movies and eating all sorts of junk food, the kind that Kurt knew would wreak havoc on his skin later. It was getting late when Kurt finally looked at the clock, so he decided to go back to his room, thankful for the distraction his friend had provided for the afternoon. Once he was home, a quick look around told him his dad wasn't back yet. He was slightly relieved by that, considering he hadn't really spoken with his dad since their argument in the office with John the day before. Kurt still felt hurt by his dad's reaction but also part of him only wanted to prove to his dad just how_ wrong_ he was about him.

As a sigh escaped before he could stop it, Kurt stood up straight and decided to start getting ready for bed. Once in the shower he let the water wash away all the bad feelings of the last couple of days and watches as the water and pain circle down the drain, leaving him feeling warm, relaxed and content for the time being.

He dressed in light sleep clothes and sat at his vanity, the one thing he had insisted be brought to Atlantis with them and started his daily moisturizing routine. After all of the junk food and sugar he had consumed today, along with all his crying, he didn't want to chance a break out. He stared at his reflection carefully and was surprised he didn't look worse than he did. He was about to apply more moisturizer under his eyes when a soft knock sounded on his door, followed by the whoosh of it sliding open. Still looking in the mirror, Kurt saw his father tiptoe in to stand in the door frame.

"Oh, you're still awake. Good."

"Yeah." The word came out soft even to his own ears and he winced at the pain he heard in it.

Burt looked uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot and clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. "Kurt, I don't want to fight with you."

"Me either." He answered, still sounding pained.

"Good. I'm glad you've moved past this silly nonsense." Burt was studying his son's reflection in the mirror.

Kurt swiveled in his chair and met his father's wide eyes and spoke with force. "Dad I haven't given up." Burt moved to protest but Kurt put up a hand, forestalling any complaints. "Don't worry, I'm not going on any more jumper lessons or anything like that, but I'm not changing my mind about this. I want on a team and I _will _be given a fair consideration when the time comes."

Burt was angrily pacing in the door jamb now, not knowing how else to release all of his pent up anger at the situation. "I can't believe you are being so stubborn!" The sound of Kurt's amused chuckle stopped the burly man midstride. He looked back at his son, who had one thin eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Really?" Kurt asked, amusement shading the one word.

Burt huffed out a deep chuckle, thinking out his reply before answering. He went with the truth and began to relax. "No. Not really. You get your stubbornness from me." He smirked.

Kurt smiled at him as well, most of the fight leaving his weary body. They stayed like that for a few moments, both reveling in the normalcy of their usual easy going conversations. Burt studied his son for a moment and wondered whether or not the exhaustion that seemed to settle over the small boy had anything to do with their disagreement or not. "You eat yet?"

Kurt laughed and held his stomach. "Enough to feed three people!"

Burt chuckled again. "I highly doubt that, but get some rest then and I'll see you in the morning."

Kurt relaxed even more when he realized that his dad wasn't going to push the issue any further, at least for tonight. "Yeah. Good night dad."

"Night Kurt." He said as he left the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

When the door closed Kurt let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. That had gone better than he expected. He finished up his moisturizing routine and hopped into bed. As he was snuggling under his sheets, relaxing against his soft mattress he felt how all the tension of the day had played on his now aching muscles. Pressing deeper under the covers, he waited for sleep to overtake his wondering mind. Thoughts of what tomorrow would bring and whether or not Rachel's plan would work. It only took a few moments for his eyelids to droop and he drifted off into a restful deep sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Again sorry for the long wait but hopefully this makes up for it. Puck and Kurt make up! **

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Puck woke up the next morning to a jolt of pain shooting up his arm. For a moment he wondered why, but as he squinted in the morning light he remembered his injured hand. Cursing under his breath he carefully stumbled over to the bathroom, hoping that his noise wouldn't wake Finn who was still snoring away. It took a little longer to get himself ready as he had to work one handed, but soon enough he was dressed and snuck out of the room before Finn woke.

Puck walked slowly through the empty hallways. It was early and many of the city's residents were still asleep. Puck was grateful for the quiet. It gave him a moment to think. And only one thought kept spinning around in his mind. Kurt. Puck was still anxious about Kurt's behavior in the infirmary. He'd tried to pry the information out of Rachel, but she'd managed to slip away before he could convince her to fess up. The rest of the afternoon had been a series of thwarted attempts to find the other boy. Every time he'd managed to carve out a spare minute to look for Kurt, something had come up. His mission for today, since Colonel Sheppard had commanded he take at least one day off for his injury, was to find Kurt. He needed to talk to the other boy and find out just what exactly was wrong, and clear up any misunderstandings. Puck wasn't totally sure what had gone wrong, but he knew Kurt was hurting over it and that made him feel sick inside.

By noon Puck was convinced that not only was the other boy avoiding him, he wasn't even acknowledging him. Puck had spotted Kurt once earlier in the day, they had made brief eye contact but Kurt had snubbed his nose at him and fled in the opposite direction. Just as Puck was about to call out to him one of the other marines had cornered him and started bugging him with stupid questions regarding the proper procedure of taking inventory of the weapons cache on PCX-236. Apparently Puck had failed to fill out all corresponding paper work the last time he had been there.

After his lecture on proper paper work procedures, Puck was both mentally and physically exhausted from his days search. He had been everywhere he could think of and still hadn't been able to pin Kurt down. The hunger pangs he'd been ignoring for the past half hour were finally beginning to wear him down. Defeated, Puck found himself in line at the mess. He loaded his tray with everything he could reach, tying his best to balance it all using just his one hand. As he looked around for a table he felt his tray tip precariously to the side, but at the last second before it would have been nothing more than a mess on the floor, a hand shot out and steadied it. Puck breathed a sigh of relief and was about to thank the mysterious savior but as his eyes swept up the thin arm that led to a face with shining blue eyes framed by golden locks of blond hair, his voice caught in his throat and the smile he wore died on his lips.

"You should be more careful." The blond doctor from the day before was smiling, what Puck thought of as a predatory smile. It was the same kind he used to use on the women back home and it had never failed to capture his prey but this blond little girl didn't have the experience that he did. She was way out of her league if she thought that her weak attempt at capture would work on him. "You need help with this? I'm sitting right over here and you can join me if you want." she cooed.

Puck had hoped that she would just give up and leave him alone but the way she smiled and batted her lashes told him he would have to make things clear. Taking ahold of his tray, as best he could with both hands, he smiled at her and took a step back, needing to put some distance between them. "Thanks but I'm not really interested in anything you're offering I already have someone I'm interested in so if you don't mind." Puck watched her reaction for a moment, seeing the faint blush creep up her cheeks as she stuttered for the right words.

"I ... It wasn't...I mean..." _She must not get rejected much, _he thought, smiling to himself.

Puck was already moving away from her as she continued to fumble for a witty comeback, but as he looked up he saw Kurt's angry face stare him down for an instant before the smaller boy flew from the room. Puck barely had time to register that his friend and Rachel had been sitting at a table, most likely with Kurt, before Puck tossed his tray on the first table he passed, in the process knocking over someone's drink. He heard the squawk of displeasure from the innocent bystander but continued after Kurt. He called out to the other boy several times with no response. Puck was beginning to get pissed now. He hadn't done anything to warrant this treatment from the other boy and he wanted answers now!

Puck followed Kurt down the hall and watched as he jumped into a transporter. Puck cursed softly, jogging quickly towards the closing doors. He managed to grab the doors at the last second with his good hand and slipped inside before they closed again. Slightly out of breath from the chase Puck turned to face Kurt. The smaller boy had his arms crossed over his chest defensively and stood rigid against the wall. He looked as if being in the small space with Puck was the last thing he wanted. After taking a few deep breaths Puck moved to stand closer to Kurt, blocking his way out when the doors slid open.

"Kurt what the heck is wrong with you? Why have you been avoiding me?"

Kurt turned his head to the side and refused to make eye contact. Neither boy moved when the doors slid open. Puck stepped closer and searched Kurt's face and stance for any answers. He found nothing but hurt and anger in those crystal clear eyes. When he spoke, Puck's voice was a pleading whisper. "Please tell me what I did wrong. Just...please just talk to me."

The soft desperate tone in Puck's voice weakened Kurt's resolve and he turned to stare into the marine's dark eyes. Kurt let out a loud sigh and shifted his stance. "Fine. But let's not do this here." He said as he maneuvered himself around the marine, making sure not to make any contact as he did.

Puck watched as Kurt slipped past him and made his way down the empty hall. After a moment's pause he followed after the other boy, silently rejoicing that he was actually going to be given the chance to clear up this misunderstanding that was going on between them.

Kurt led them to a small break room just down the hall from the transport. Once inside he did a quick check and seeing no one in sight closed and locked the door behind Puck, ensuring that they wouldn't be interrupted. Kurt walked across the room and leaned up against the counter on the back wall. He crossed his arms across his chest, taking up a defensive stance. He eyed Puck carefully, waiting for the other boy to start. Puck saw this and relaxed his posture, trying to convey an aura of calm.

"Kurt I just want to know what happened? Did I do something wrong?" Puck took a couple tentative steps toward Kurt but stopped when he saw the anger mar Kurt's pretty face.

Kurt had barely been holding back his anger from the beginning but finally let it loose when he saw that Puck was genuinely confused why he was mad. _Did he really think he was that stupid? _Kurt pushed away from the counter, his fury no longer contained. "Did you do something wrong? Really?" Kurt smiled evilly at the taller boy, shaking his head in disbelief. "Yes you did something wrong! You were flirting in front of my face! I thought... that...I thought..." Kurt hugged his arms around himself and seemed to deflate, not finishing his thoughts.

Puck was baffled by Kurt's sudden outburst and then watched as he seemed to crumble in on himself like he was trying to hide from Puck what he was truly feeling. Puck moved forward again and took Kurt's shaking shoulders in his hands and began rubbing his thumbs in soothing circles, for now ignoring the dull ache in his own injured hand. Kurt didn't try to pull away from him so he took that as a good sign that at least he had a chance to make things right.

"Kurt." Puck called his name softly, begging the other boy to meet his eyes. The tear filled blue gaze that he was met with made Puck's stomach churn painfully. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about." Puck spoke softly; keeping eye contact with Kurt, hoping the brunette would see the truth in his face.

Kurt's gaze turned incredulous as he twisted in Puck's grip, but didn't pull away. "The blond doctor!" His voice taking on a pitch higher than normal. As Puck's face scrunched into one of confusion Kurt's anger started to build again. "You were smiling at her yesterday in the infirmary and I saw the two of you in the cafeteria just now. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about." Kurt's voice lost its edge on the last part and he looked away again.

Puck couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never even considered this as the reason for Kurt's bazaar behavior. _He had brushed off the clingy blonde's advances from the start, didn't Kurt see that? _Puck tightened his grip on Kurt, not painfully, just enough to regain the brunettes attention. When he had it Puck smiled warmly. "Kurt I never wanted that girl. _She _came on to me. I smiled at her yesterday because she gave me something to take away the pain. That's all." He desperately wanted Kurt to understand.

"What about today in the mess? I saw you talking with her and she was practically drooling all over the floor. You didn't seem to mind."

Puck watched him for a minute as he worked out just how to respond to that without upsetting Kurt again, but before he could respond Kurt was speaking again.

"I understand if you want to be with her. She's very pretty and I'm sure it would be easier to have a relationship with her than with someone like me." His voice was shaky and weak with unshed tears as he stared at Puck's muscled chest in front of him, avoiding eye contact.

Puck trailed his uninjured hand up to cup Kurt's pale cheek, tilting his face to force him to meet his intense stare. Kurt let him tip his head and then sniffed, trying to keep his tears from falling. One escaped the corner of his eye and burned a hot trail down his cheek, but before it could roll any further Puck's thumb was there tenderly brushing it away. The smiling face Kurt was looking into gave him hope.

"Kurt I thought scientists were supposed to do research and be sure of something before jumping to conclusions." The smile on Puck's face was clearly heard in the smooth tone his voice had taken. Kurt was beginning to relax and his tears subsiding as Puck continued to smirk at him. "You obviously need to work on that as a scientist and you definitely didn't hear what I said to her did you?" Kurt shook his head and Puck continued. "I told her that I wasn't interested and that I already have someone."

"You do?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening in shock.

Puck smiled down at him and nodded his head while gently caressing Kurt's soft cheek with his thumb. "Yeah. I do."

"Oh. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Kurt tried to pull away but Puck held him tight, moving his other hand down around Kurt's waist, keeping him close.

Kurt wasn't meeting his eyes again and was fidgeting nervously. Puck was confused at first but then put the pieces together. "You." He whispered. Kurt stilled in his grasp and lifted his head to stare at Puck. "I was talking about you, Kurt."

"Me?" It was all he managed to say but Kurt smiled up at Puck, pleading with his eyes for it to be true.

Puck snaked his other arm down around Kurt's waist and pulled the smaller boy flush against his chest. Kurt instantly relaxed into the hold and brought his hands up to rest on Puck's well toned shoulders, reveling in the feel of the hard muscles under his palms. "Yeah you." Puck chuckled, the sound vibrating through Kurt, causing a shiver to run down his spine. Puck took notice of Kurt's reaction and bent his head down with the intention of resting it against Kurt's forehead but one look into Kurt's shining blue eyes had Puck continuing his movement until his lips pressed against Kurt's in a heated kiss. They both pulled away panting and out of breath.

Kurt recovered first and ran one of his hands up Puck's neck and through the strip of hair on his head before softly scratching his way back down to the base of Puck's neck, kneading it softly. Kurt was staring at Puck with blue eyes darkened with lust and something else Puck wasn't sure of. Puck smiled down at the brunette and began backing them up until Kurt's back connected with the counter. "I have wanted to do this since yesterday morning." Puck smiled.

Kurt quirked one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. "Oh really?" he teased. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Puck couldn't take it anymore, bringing his hands up to Kurt's small face he tilted it to the side and brought their mouths together again. It started off soft with little nips here and there, but Puck wanted Kurt to know exactly how much he wanted him. Puck licked along the seal of Kurt's lips, pulling Kurt's plump bottom lip into his mouth, tasting a sweetness that was all Kurt. Puck moaned into the kiss when he felt the other boy open under his questing mouth. Puck let his hands roam down Kurt's slender back until they found their way to his waist, pulling their hips together and causing both of them to break the kiss to gasp at the new sensation.

Kurt's heart was racing so fast he thought for sure he would pass out. He had never been kissed by anyone before Puck and this was almost too much but his head was swimming with lust and want and he couldn't bring himself to care if things were moving too fast. He had never felt this intensely before and didn't want that feeling to go away. Puck's large hands on his hips were slowly inching their way to grope Kurt's butt. He felt the strong hand grip his thighs and pull him up to sit on the counter behind him. Puck's hands slowly stroked Kurt's thighs as he stepped into the open space between Kurt's legs, leaning into the other boy. The new position put Kurt at a slightly higher position giving him the ability to control the kiss, but that didn't last long.

Puck broke the kiss and started kissing his way across Kurt's jaw over to his ear. Puck nibbled on the lobe and then licked the shell of Kurt's ear, nipping at the tip. Kurt shivered and squeezed Puck's shoulders as the action raised goose bumps all over his body. Puck giggled at Kurt's reaction and smiled against his ear before moving back to lick at the brunettes kiss reddened lips.

Kurt let Puck take control of the kiss once more as he began to move the kiss down Kurt's pale neck. Kurt tilted his head back giving him free range of all the smooth skin. Puck desperately wanted to leave his mark on Kurt so that everyone who looked at him would know that he was taken but he decided against it, not knowing how Kurt would react to the claiming mark. Instead he moved his kisses lower, pushing the neck of Kurt's shirt down and scraping his teeth across his collar bone.

Puck's hands were caressing the insides of Kurt's legs and trailing dangerously close to Kurt's growing arousal. "Puck!" Kurt cried and shuddered against the marine's chest. Kurt dissolved into a litany of unintelligible moans and gasps as Puck rocked against him, grinding their hips together.

"So good Baby." He breathed against Kurt's ear. Puck was on the verge of losing all control and he could tell that Kurt was close as well, judging by the way the other boy bucked and panted against him. Puck slowed his movements and ran his hand through Kurt's now messy hair, tilting his face so he could peer into his heavily lidded eyes. "You okay Princess?" He smirked, surprising himself how calm he sounded, despite the current situation.

Kurt's already stained cheeks turned a deeper shade of red as he stared back into dark lust filled eyes. He managed to nod but when he tried to speak it was breathy and whispered. "Ye...ah. I...It's good." Puck's smirk turned into an almost feral grin as he sped up his movements again.

"Good, because I'm not gonna last too much longer."

"Me too." Kurt sighed and turned his face into the side of Puck's neck, inhaling a sent that was purely Puck and let the sent and sensations wash over him. Kurt held his eyes shut tight and held his breath as the jolt of pleasure that had been building finally exploded with a flash of white light behind his eyelids.

Puck felt Kurt stiffen against his chest and heard the whimpered cry that fell from the scientists sweet mouth. Then Kurt's body sagged against him. The other boy's release had Puck's hips stuttering as he too was pushed over the edge, falling into oblivion as his pleasure reached its peak and he shook with his own release.

Both boys slumped against one another panting heavily and feeling boneless. Puck wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him tightly as they both came down from their pleasure induced highs. After a moment Puck could feel the smaller boy's breathing begin to slow down and even out. If he had it his way he would stay there all day just feeling the welcoming heat that poured off Kurt but he knew that was impossible. For one thing Puck knew they had to talk, they had moved faster than he had planned and he knew Kurt was new to the whole dating thing so Puck wanted to be certain that they were on the same page regarding where they both stood.

Puck shifted his stance and kissed the top of Kurt's head, the other boy peering up at him and smiling shyly. Puck brushed his hand across Kurt's rosy cheek and bent down to place a soft kiss against his mouth. Pulling away and searching the brunette's face for any signs of regret, Puck smiled happily when he saw only blissed out happiness. "Still okay?" he asked timidly, raising his eyebrows in question.

Kurt reached up and pulled Puck back to his lips, kissing him with less hunger and need and more love and tenderness. Kurt pulled away just enough to look into the dark brown eyes in front of him. "Still okay." He answered softly but looked down to his lap and wrinkled his nose. "A little messy... but still okay." He giggled.

Puck felt himself relax and chuckled at Kurt's predicament but then looked down at his own pants. "Yeah, I'm in the same boat as you on that front." He wiggled a little bit then stepped back to let Kurt down from the counter. He didn't want to break contact with the petite scientist but knew that if he didn't he really would stand there all day just holding the other boy.

Kurt hopped down and tried his best to smooth out the wrinkles in his outfit and hide the wetness in his pants. Looking up to Puck he saw the other boy doing the same thing, with less success. Kurt giggled, bringing Puck's attention away from his problem to stare openly at Kurt.

"Maybe no one will be in the halls and we can make it back without being noticed."

"Yeah maybe." Puck chuckled. When he spoke again his voice took on a serious note. "Kurt. I wanted to-"

Kurt cut him off before he could continue, shaking his head. "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed anything without talking to you. It's just that... well, this is all new to me and I felt like I might have messed something up and she's really pretty and ..." Kurt fumbled for the right words, his nerves causing his stomach to do little flips as he turned his head away from Puck, unable to meet his dark gaze.

Puck rushed over to him and wrapped him up in a warm, tight embrace. "Shh." He soothed. "You did nothing wrong! I should have made it clear how I felt... but I was scared. This all seemed to happen so fast. At first I was just having fun bickering with you and making you blush, but then before I even realized it, I couldn't wait to see you every day." Puck laughed and shook his head at his own actions, _he should have known sooner just what Kurt was becoming to him. _Puck pulled back to look Kurt in the eyes as he spoke. "You are the highlight of my day. I pester Finn every morning to see if I can tag along with him and Rachel just for a chance to see you." His lips turned up in a big smile.

Kurt swiped at his eyes and matched the smile Puck wore with one of his own. "Really?"

"Yep." Puck reached out and ran his fingers across Kurt's cheek. "Kurt, I was so lost when you were avoiding me. I felt like my heart had been ripped out."

Kurt's hands gripped the material of Puck's shirt tight and his expression grew pained. "I'm sorry. I-"

"Stop! I told you it wasn't your fault." He tried to reassure the trembling brunette. He was having more trouble getting his thoughts out than he had hoped. He had assumed once he had Kurt in front of him the right words would just flow. "Kurt...I...I'm pretty sure...No...I'm positive. ..I know that I'm in love with you."

Kurt froze in Puck's gentle embrace and repeated the words over in his head. _I'm in love with you;_ Puck had said that, he was sure. Kurt's heart fluttered in his chest and he struggled to keep his breathing even. No one had ever told him that they loved him and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond without freaking out the other boy. His first instinct was to immediately say it back but he didn't want Puck to think he was just saying it because he had. Before Kurt could make a decision either way he felt Puck tense in their embrace.

Kurt looked up to an unreadable expression and instantly felt guilty for making his marine doubt his confession. Kurt ran his hand up the muscled chest in front of him and smiled sweetly. "Puck... I'm in love with you too."

Chuckling, Puck leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Kurt's pink lips. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry." Kurt was giggling as well.

"Don't be." He smiled and kissed Kurt again. "We really do need to get back before people start to notice we're missing."

Kurt nodded and reluctantly pulled away from Puck. They were about to leave when Kurt turned back. "Everyone is getting together for dinner tonight. You'll be there right?"

"Definitely, I wouldn't miss it Princess."

Kurt blushed as the two parted ways at the door, each sneaking back to their own rooms to change.


End file.
